


The Desert Shall Take Us - Part One; Destiny Kinda Sucks

by MillieMae



Series: The Desert Shall Take Us [1]
Category: Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Stargate Atlantis, Stargate SG-1, Supernatural
Genre: Action/Adventure, Alternate Universe, Angst, BDSM, F/M, Humor, M/M, Multi, Romance, Smut, Vampire Slayer(s)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-09-09
Updated: 2018-02-05
Packaged: 2018-08-14 03:11:01
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 6
Words: 29,532
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7996429
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MillieMae/pseuds/MillieMae
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The world needs a new Champion, and with so many to pick from these days you'd think it'd be easy. But this one needs a soul that can endure and a mind that can survive what must come before. The gates of Atlantis must be defended and the Beast slain or all shall be lost.</p>
<p>Part One; It took a little while for Violet's life to really start sucking post-SunnyDale but then it took Destiny a little while to choose. Now people keep dying and she keeps screwing up, and its getting hard to breathe under the weight of her ghosts.</p>
<p>A BDSM AU of The Rise of the Slayer. The Councilium House rules over Sineya House, they are the legally recognised custodians of the Slayers, whom are all submissive. Violet is an OFC, not the same Violet as seen on screen. Part One is mainly Slayer 'verse, I wanted to give some background on Violet and how she becomes the woman whom eventually arrives on the city.</p>
<p>I have played with character placings and timelines. Look away if you like accuracy!<br/>In progress.</p>
<p>Please note; Part Two has been deleted whilst I edit, I was not happy with it and realised I had missed some story essential points. Apologies, it will be posted again soon x</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Where It Begins

“So here's the part where you make a choice: What if you could have that power...now? In every generation, one Slayer is born... because a bunch of men who died thousands of years ago made up that rule. They were powerful men. This woman is more powerful than all of them combined. So I say we change the rule. I say my power......should be our power. Tomorrow, Willow will use the essence of the scythe to change our destiny”

“From now on, every girl in the world who might be a Slayer…will be a Slayer. Every girl who could have the power will have the power, can stand up will stand up. Slayers…every one of us. Make your choice. Are you ready to be strong?”

—————————— 

Out in the dark place a pin prick of light drew the things closer, gathering around it hungry for the souls that occupied the space beyond, the shape of their shadows enough to send terror shooting through the heart of the greatest champion. They scattered hissing and screeching as one approached, cutting a swathe through their numbers. For a moment the light disappeared as it bent its head to draw in the scent of the other world, savour the taste of it on it’s great red tongue, then it lifted its head and howled.

Willow lay on her side, lips curving into a serene smile. “That was nifty”

—————————— 

Four months later

Kennedy unsheathed the sword from the scabbard slung across her back, knees bending slightly, arms raising to ensure her opponent met with the deadly point before her own body. It’s red eyes burned holes in the darkness almost two feet above her head and she could hear the deep rumble of its breath, feel it through the soles of her boots. Somewhere far away Vi was screaming her name, the sound of super powered feet hitting three inch thick steel telling the young Slayer that at least somebody was giving it one hell of a go at getting to her. 

She moved one foot back to brace herself, ignored the warm wet feeling beneath her top that told her the surprise swipe from those deadly, dirty claws had cut deep. The glimpse she had been allowed of the creature before the door had swung shut and engulfed them both in darkness told her that this was no ordinary demon and, even if it was with her dying breath, Kennedy absolutely must live long enough to warn her friends of its presence in their world. She had seen this…thing only once and that had been in one of her Domme’s books that she had been idly flicking through at Willow’s feet whilst the Goddess Witch worked at the desk quietly above her. 

Relaxing her shoulders she crouched lower, found the headspace that her Goddess had taught her to tap into even when they weren’t in each others physical orbit and smiled into the dark. “Showtime” She whispered.

“Indeed” The beast roared and she felt the air shift as he sprang forward. Ducking the blow that was aimed at her face she brought her sword up, feeling its trajectory slow as it met the tough hide, grit her teeth as she forced it through thick skin and muscle to slice through the soft, vulnerable insides beneath. It roared again and the young woman was dealt a breath stealing blow to the side, not drawing blood this time but sending her crashing into an unseen wall before sliding to the floor and leaving her gasping for air, wincing at the internal grating of broken ribs.

Kennedy blinked back the blur of tears as she stayed down, trying to find a breathing pattern that didn’t send burning icicles of pain through her chest whilst scanning the room. Now she had three large gashes in one side of her body and the other was painfully smashed inwards. Her Goddess could heal this, she would save her, all Kennedy had to do was buy her the time needed to reach her. The blows against the door were still unrelenting and she swore she could hear a slight bend in the metal. 

Another sweep of the room, and now those two red burning pits were nowhere to be seen but she could hear it breathing, and it would certainly be able to pinpoint her position through her rattling battle for oxygen. It had its eyes closed, leaving her to drown in darkness whilst it readied for it’s final blow. Gritting her teeth and tightening her fingers around the hilt of her sword she pushed herself up the wall, unable to stop the cry as a pointed piece of the hewn rock scraped across her decimated ribs. There was a deep rumble off to the left, which seemed to be her enemy laughing at her discomfort, and she swung her sword shakily around to cover herself.

“They told me of the Slayer” The sound of claws hitting rock echoed around the dark as it moved closer. “She is found wanting”

“Yeah, wanting pizza and a cold beer” Silence. Kennedy coughed up some blood. “At least vamps are up for a bit of banter”

“Vermin” There was a low growl.

The young Slayer snorted, immediately regretting it as more blood left it’s sweet taste in her mouth and her chest called for mercy. “Shit” Kennedy rammed her spare hand into her top, trying to plug the wounds. “You don’t like vamps? You’re gonna hate it here”

“The Vampyre are not eternal, their time shall end” Sparks flew as the dreadful sound of claws dragging against rock came from right in front of her. The little white and blue flashes showed the beast idly sharpening its nature gifted weapons on the low stone ceiling. Then it stopped and opened its eyes, and Kennedy’s world became two burning red points of light. “As shall yours, Slayer”

She stared up into the fire, vaguely aware that the blood loss was starting to make her feel a little dizzy. She blinked, her voice slurring drunkenly. “Not…just…me”

There came another bone-shaking laugh. “Of this we know” It leant closer until foul breath ruffled her hair. “If the Scythe had not been used, if the Slayer’s were not made great…I could not have come”

Kennedy closed her eyes. “No” She murmured.

“Yes” It roared. 

She felt the great talons pierce her skin, slide effortlessly between her broken bones and soft organs, heard them meet rock the other side and bury impossibly deep into the solid surface behind her. Flashes of her smiling Domme pushing brightly coloured pins into the world map hung in an opulent office flickered across her unseeing gaze and Kennedy uncurled her fingers, letting her sword fall. As the sound of it hitting the floor echoed around them she laughed and laughed, spluttering through the blood until the world went black.

——————————

Paris, Eight months later

Violet ran, the ground falling away beneath her feet as she effortlessly ate up the distance between her and the rest of her team. Even over a mile away the faint sounds of battle had reached her sharp ears and as she drew closer it was clear that it was not going in the other Slayers favour. Not breaking a stride she unsheathed the silver knife at her waist, there was only a few feet to go now and the scent of blood, human blood, was urging her on and on. As she sprinted into the clearing a Turok-han reared up to meet her, even after all this time they were still hunting down the last of these bastards that had managed to escape Spike’s final noble act. 

A few moments later she rolled away from the set of vicious claws aiming for her face and swept up a conveniently discarded axe, swinging it around to watch the head of the last Turok-han slide satisfyingly from its shoulders. She breathed a sigh of relief and turned to look for her friends. They were slowly picking themselves up off the ground, dusting themselves down and beginning the search for haphazardly thrown weapons. Violet frowned. “Cari?” 

The other girls paused in their movements at her question, eyes also searching their close vicinity. Her gaze swept over the fallen, their twisted and ugly bodies even more so in death. Then Violet’s eyes fell upon a pale hand, the silver band on it's middle finger glinting in the first pale light of dawn, the rest of the body hidden by that of a demon. Stomach churning she reached her friend in a heart wrenchingly small amount of time, Caridad had gone down a mere swords length away from Violet herself. 

Wrenching the lifeless monster off the young Slayer she threw it’s limp body as far as she could before kneeling beside her, the worn knees of her jeans soaking up morning dew and blood. She was vaguely aware of the other girls moving to gather around her. “Cari?” She touched the side of the young woman’s throat. “No” She whispered.

The sun had fully risen when a warm hand pressed down upon her shoulder. “We have to go Vi. People will be moving about soon”

Nodding silently and swallowing back the forbidden tears Violet slid shaking hands beneath her friends body and lifted her away from the blood-drenched grass. 

——————————

Violet stepped into her new pants and pulled them slowly up, enjoying the feel of the soft leather passing over skin. She’d burnt the jeans with bright red chrysanthemum shaped stains on the knees along with the rest of the clothes she’d been wearing that night, the lingering smell that could not be shifted even with several washes had been too powerful a reminder. The young Slayer figured that the leather would be more practical, the tough material would repel the stink of battle and hopefully the knees would stay in a bit longer.

Buttoning them she then slid into the matching jacket and knee length boots, more new purchases, before padding over to the window, heels making no sound over the plush carpet that had been fitted throughout the House after their last budget injection. Coming to a stop at the window Violet stared through the heavy rain, picking out the haunting shapes of dozens of gravestones. To have their fallen sisters buried so near had seemed a comforting thought when it had first been suggested but as the graveyard grew behind the Paris House so did Violet’s uncomfortableness with it. It was as if there was no escape from all of their destinies now, the markers for their friends bodies seemingly taunting her, in some cases almost staring accusingly at her.

She picked out the one in the third row, far left, pressed her fingertips against the glass. It was deserted now but only an hour ago the sun had shone unfairly down on the sombre occasion as Faith had spoken in muted tones about the loss of another friend, had somehow found a different way to say the same things she had been forced to say so many times over. Violet sighed and dropped her hand from the window, watched as her fingerprints disappeared slowly from the cool glass as rain drops ran across them. Caridad was the fourth of the original Slayers who had fought at the Hellmouth alongside B and Faith to die and Violet was feeling the heavy weight of loss in her heart. 

Turning her back on her old friends she moved back across the room, reaching out for her sword and sheathing it smoothly into its carrier strapped to her back. Picking up the two stakes Violet spun them in both hands before leaning down slightly to push them into the tops of her boots. She had been a good girl and attended the funeral despite every cell in her body protesting at the act, now it was time for her to mourn the only way she had learnt that worked, hunt stuff, kill stuff.

Raising her right hand she turned it back and forth a couple of times, watching the light catch at the silver band on her middle finger. It had been sitting on her bed in a small purple box, on display nestled in lilac silk, when she’d returned from the funeral, a silent reminder that at least one person in this House understood Violet, knew the motivation she needed. Just like Ken’s scabbard Cari’s ring would serve as a reminder of not only her dear friends but that Violet must do better, be better, train harder. Every little mistake could cost another girl her life and Vi was already suffocating under her ghosts.

There was a faint knock at the door and she muttered a quiet curse before stepping back towards the window and calling them in. It seemed that a minority in the House still hadn’t learnt that it was best to leave Violet alone at times like this. A brow raised in surprise as her visitor stepped through the open door before clicking it shut behind her. They definitely knew better. “Will?”

The visiting witch dipped her head briefly. “I’m sorry to disturb you Vi, I know…” Quick hazel eyes darted over her, a flash of green so quick only a Slayer could see it as the first lightening strike lit up the room. Violet spent a brief moment thinking how beautiful those changeable eyes were. “You’re patrolling?”

The question shook Violet from her thoughts. “I always do” She grabbed a spare knife from the weapons stash laid out on her bed to reaffirm her point. 

“I know” There was a nod. “I just thought…the weathers bad”

“Throws them off their game” Violet threw out a quick grin for good measure before going to move past the redhead. Willow moved in front of her. She raised a brow. “Probably not a good idea Will”

The only Domme in the House folded her arms across her chest and matched the young Slayer’s brow raise. “Slayers don’t scare me”

“Does anything?”

“Yes”

“Oh”

They stared at each other in silence for a minute, Violet weighing up the possibility of the witch turning her into a rat for a week as punishment for being pushed aside. Then Willow sighed. “You know what Vi, I’m going to tell you the truth because I think you need to hear it, and no one else out there is brave enough to do it”

“I’m flattered”

“Quiet time” The Domme schooled her face into a serious expression. “No, you should not have left your team. Yes, you have a dangerous tendency to become lost in the fight, absorbed by your own battle. Cari dying may or may not be your fault, nobody will ever know if your presence at the beginning of that fight would have made a difference. No, none of us hate you, yes, we all love you. Yes, we are all worried about you”

Violet raised her chin defiantly against the words.

Willow reached out, stroked a thumb across the stubborn jawline. “Yes, we have all made mistakes. Yes, we all carry the burden of at least one death. No, it never leaves you”

The young Slayer swallowed, remembering the eyes that had bored into her own as the powerful witch was told of her late subs death, before stepping back and away from the contact. She felt her jaw twitch as she clenched her teeth against the emotions. “Thanks for the pep talk coach, now…do you mind?” She gestured towards the door behind the witch.

The eyes flashed green again as another lightening strike split the sky then her path was clear. “The Concilium will summon you”

“I know” Violet stepped past the other woman, reaching for the door handle.

“Give them hell Slayer”

She smiled as it swung open. “Always, Goddess”

——————————

London, Three Weeks Later

Violet stood before the Concilium, a lone figure centre stage inside the large horseshoe shaped table. The man at its head laced his fingers together, placed his hands gently on the highly polished wood. The young Slayer always felt a dangerous spark of resentment when she visited Concilium House. She hated having to answer to the pompous buffoons who sat around in their plush leather chairs instead of getting off their arses and experiencing life on the battle field, but the fact they obviously lived in a great deal of luxury whilst the Slayers were forced to scrimp and make do also stoked the small fire in her chest.

“We agree that your actions on the night of July 8th had a negative effect on the outcome of the battle with the Turok-han. Had you been present from the beginning, with your superior skill set, it is more than likely that all members of your team would have survived”

Violet concentrated on keeping her face expressionless. The last few night’s hunts hadn’t even made a dent in her grief, nor the unescapable sickness of guilt.

“However, we are also in agreement that this unfortunate event was not caused deliberately by yourself. It is merely your lack of experience and your natural tendency to become absorbed within your own hunt that led to this unhappy outcome. We are confident that over time you will recondition yourself to become a more proficient team member and have seen that your great sadness about the loss of Caridad has already set you on that path of learning”

She nodded silently as he seemed to pause for her to acknowledge his words. Inside she wondered what it would be like to punch him in the face.

“We want you to be aware Violet that we are watching you with great interest, you certainly hold the potential to be a very impressive Slayer, to even join the likes of Miss Summers and Miss Lehane in the history books. I do not know if you are aware Violet but all Slayers do not have equal power, some are blessed with a more intense bond to the demon essence which in turn makes them stronger. You are one of those girls and, for us at least, it would be a great pity to see such power go to waste. Because of this, and of your actions during the last few altercations with the enemy, we have decided to temporarily remove you from Paris House”

Violet blinked dazedly at him through the rush of emotions.

“Perhaps an insight into what the girls who came before had to endure to perform their duty will help you to be more thankful for the world the Slayers live in today” He sat back in his chair. “You will not return home tonight. A bag has been prepared for you and there is a car outside that is at your disposal. You will spend the next three months hunting alone. You will have no contact with the other Slayers or any persons that form a part of your former House. We hope that you will use this time wisely Slayer, not only to make a significant dent in our enemies numbers but to also think upon what has been discussed here today. To decide once and for all what kind of a Slayer you wish to be”

She was vaguely aware of the Head of Council standing, Violet closed her eyes against the rush of blood in her ears.

“You will kneel Violet Rayne”

The young Slayer clenched her jaw against the rage, dropped to her knees and assumed her presenting position. Soft footfalls seemed to take an eternity to reach her.

“Your House’s collar shall be removed and replaced with that of a Concilium Guardianship one. If at any time you should feel overwhelmingly anxious about your situation you are to contact us, if you are injured and unable to make contact yourself our details will be easily discovered by any third party. You have permission to partake in play if and when you feel that you are in need of it” Violet concentrated on her breathing as the delicate silver torque was gently removed from her throat and a heavy leather strap took its place. It was tightened until it became uncomfortable but did not restrict her airways. “The only acceptable excuse for this collar being removed is for medical reasons. If proof of this is not presented to us at the end of your punishment then we shall expect for the collar to still be in place. Do you understand?”

Violet nodded gently, careful not to put any unnecessary strain on her new jewellery.

“You are still learned in our rules?”

She nodded slowly again.

“They are to be followed without question, or deviation”

Another dip of the head.

“You will answer Violet”

She made a great effort of not flipping him off. “Yes Sir”

The presence behind her stepped back, at the same time the other Concilium members rose. Violet could hear their chairs pushing back over the deep pile carpet, leather inhaling slowly as weight was removed from it. Making sure not a muscle twitched Violet knelt, staring at the blackness behind her lids until the last of the footsteps faded away.


	2. Insight Into Exile

Two months later

Violet stepped back from her work, running an expert eye over the bonds that held him to the chair. Nodding with satisfaction to herself she then pulled her hair to one side and reached around the back of her neck to unclasp the chain that hung there, ignoring the brush of fingertips over tough leather. She allowed it to hang in the air for a moment, the silver Crucifix swaying gently to and fro in an unseen breeze. Peering around it she smiled gently at his uneasy gaze, the feeble struggles against the rope. The young Slayer had made sure he was no more capable of freeing himself as a new born, the fight had been unnecessary with several opportunities to just stake the bastard but she hadn’t been able to shake this idea since it had crawled its way into her head and refused to leave. If Violet had been a lesser Slayer she would have allowed herself to worry about her growing penchant for the more elaborate killings. 

Shrugging away the thought before it set down roots Violet stepped slowly towards him across the creaking ancient floorboards, enjoying the way he cowered back as far as his restraints would allow as the cross moved closer. He hissed quietly as it brushed the tip of his broken nose and a small tendril of smoke wound up between them. She tilted her head, leaning down so they were eye to eye. “No biting now Mr Vampire” She smiled again. “Deviating from the plan will only draw this night out longer”

“Fuck you” He spat.

Violet laughed and slipped the chain around his neck with a movement almost too quick to see. 

His screams began to fade as he appeared to, ironically, breath his way through the pain until he met her curious eyes with angry, yellow ones and gritted jaw. The Crucifix still smouldered satisfyingly upon his chest. As his features flickered between demon and human he made a sound that Violet guessed was an attempt at a laugh. “A Slayer who likes to torture…” The vampire’s voice still held the edge of a growl. “Yet too young to be the Dark One”

The Slayer straightened and moved back a couple of steps, it appeared that for the meantime the show was over. He had conquered the pain of the Crucifix, at least for now. She idly wondered how the monster would react to having it shoved down his throat before bringing herself back to the present. “I’m afraid the Dark One is playing nice these days” Violet smiled. “At least as long as no-one eats her food, or drinks her beer”

There was another gargled snort. “Tamed”

“Perhaps” Violet pushed herself up onto the only piece of furniture left standing, legs swinging over the edge of the rickety table, and slid the knife from her boot before huffing a breath over its already gleaming surface, running it back and forth over her leather clad thigh. “I assume she still has it in her if pushed far enough”

“Don’t we all”

The young Slayer looked up at him in surprise. “Oh no, definitely not”

Her prisoner shifted, another hiss as the cross slid to a new position on his raw skin. “I heard tales of your Queen burning and torturing our kind, yet since the Dark One no Slayer has walked this path”

“Sometimes the old ways are the best ways” Violet murmured. Jumping down from the table she spun the knife in her palm. “I don’t suppose you’ve got any important info to impart? Nearby nest, rising evil, apocalypse?”

“If I do does it spare me?”

“Oh no” Violet smiled brightly. “It just gives us a point to work towards you know?”

—————————

 

The chair rocked forwards as he ricocheted back from the blow to the face, spitting out blood as one yellow stained fang hit the floor. The vampire coughed up more blood before raising his gaze to her, one eye glinting angrily, the other swollen shut. “You do this for fun?” He grunted quietly. “Then there is hope for my kind after all”

“Oh yes, the dark side” Violet waved the hand now covered in his stinking bodily fluids carelessly in the air. “Fear turns to anger, anger turns to hate, blah, blah blah…its one of Andrew’s favourites” She rested her hands on her knees, bending low to stare deep into that one eye. “I found the family you paid a house call” She tilted her head, allowed the rage to come forward. “Even the babe” The young Slayer shook her head, a loose tendril of golden hair falling across her face. “Tut, tut”

He glared back at her. “I’m a fucking vampire, does no-one get this anymore?! I’m supposed to be fucking evil!”

Violet delicately wiped the drop of bloody spittle from her cheek before raising up and walking away from him. Reaching her jacket she slid the pack of smokes from its inside pocket, shaking one free whilst rummaging for her lighter. Drawing the gold-plated Zippo from the darkest recess of the silk lining she stuck the cigarette into the corner of her mouth and lit up, enjoying that first burn of smoke down her throat. She took a second drag and watched the smooth exhale of polluted air raise up in front of her. “You know a vamp once told me that infants aren’t much use to you guys, not enough blood, plus if you kill your food before its had chance to breed you’re kinda cutting off your own supply” 

She shoved another cigarette into his mouth and lit the end, well it was tradition after all. He pulled clumsily at it, squinting his one good eye against the rising smoke. “Apparently babies are either used as a big gesture, a gift it you like, or their deaths are purely to torment those around them” The burning cylinder hung from his bottom lip before being sucked back in as he took a shaky pull. Violet joined him in blowing out another stream of smoke, then taking it from her mouth she rolled it thoughtfully between her fingers. “Did you kill the babe first?” She whispered.

He pulled on his cigarette again, smirked around its tip as he exhaled, gaze meeting hers but not a word spoken. 

Violet nodded. “The parents watched, of course. And the siblings too. Fear, heartbreak, rage…they won’t be waking up” She huffed quietly. “I must admit it was tempting, to allow them some more life but…” She shrugged. “…they couldn’t rise, I wouldn’t be doing my job if they had”

The monster spat his still smouldering smoke out on the ground in front of him. “Even the children? I am impressed”

“You made me do that” Violet reached for the jerry can she had pushed to one side before making her presence known in the nest and blew a light coat of dust from its side courtesy of one of his former roommates. 

“No I didn’t” The vamp revealed his one remaining fang. “You had the choice”

She stepped on the discarded cigarette and threw petrol into his face before strewing it around him as he yowled from the pain. “So did you, asshole” As Violet sprinkled around the last drops the gurgling laughter reached her ears. 

“My choice was taken from me a long time ago Dark One, just as yours was”

“I’m not the fucking Dark One” She pushed her face as close to his as she could bear. “You could have just taken the parents, you could have gone three streets down and taken the abusive Father, or the hiding rapist…”

“Yeah, really not getting the whole evil thing are ya?” His breath was sour in her nostrils. Violet moved away. The matches were back on the table, after losing her favourite Zippo last month she had learnt her lesson when it came to setting fires. “And where one falls another rises. The Dark Slayer…face of an Angel, soulless as the Devil ”

Violet struck a match, placing herself at the doorway. Good view, proven escape route. She raised the tiny flame. “I have a soul demon, I know because it hurts”

Yellow teeth and matching eye glinted at her from the centre of the room. “See you in hell Slayer”

“You first, asshole”

—————————

Four weeks later

Violet eyed her reflection in the mirrored surface of the lift wall. Tilting her head from side to side she smiled, her usual look of bare skin and dark kohl ringed eyes had made way for a more polished image. The foundation and powder applied by a more expert hand than hers had been a necessity in covering the last evidence of the beating she’d taken two days ago. Her brow furrowed slightly, stupid vamps and their magical artefact, Violet had escaped by luck only that time and it was bothering her. But that little problem would be addressed once this evening was done.

Her ride slowed to a smooth stop and the doors slid effortlessly open. Her eyes took in the opulent space now presented to her, deep carpets and ornate art deco accents covered in gold leaf called out invitingly. She stepped out, the sharp stiletto of her heel making no sound on the thick pile. Pulling heavy golden waves over one shoulder Violet inhaled deeply, sometimes it was good to smell money again. As she made a short journey to the single door on this level she made a mental note to study the view from the windows, if it was as good as she was assuming it would be then perhaps a call to her lawyer would in order once the penthouse was vacant.

They would already know that someone had taken the private lift but Violet felt it was only polite to knock. Raising her fist she tapped lightly then stepped back, letting her body fall into the position that was ingrained by her Dom Tutor until it was as natural as breathing. Her step-Fathers money had ensured that Violet had received the best training, the House she had graduated from being famous for the submissives it sent out into the world, and she had been top of her class, a Courtesan. Of course backs were turned once Violet began to display ‘rebellious tendencies’, a betrayal that she had found hurt more than it should.

As the quiet click of the lock reached her sharp ears she shook off the memory, her face must show nothing but pliancy and submission. He was an expert reader, and she’d had reliable information that he only employed those who could match his skill. A thick brow and heavy nose appeared first, with full lips and the squarest jaw she had ever encountered followed close behind. This one looked as neanderthal as he apparently liked to play. Violet smiled shyly before dropping her gaze. “I have an appointment with Mr White” 

“Mr White is already attended tonight, he don’t take walk-in whores”

Violet kept her eyes down so he couldn’t see how much she wanted to punch him in that ridiculous nose. “I am sorry, I was sent by Mr Red”

“Piss off whore”

The door slammed shut. Keeping her eyes to the floor Violet didn’t move, if ‘Mr Red’ didn’t get her in within the next thirty seconds it was door kicking time. Her foot started to twitch as she reached twenty in her head, twenty-five and the door swung open. She willed her leg to stay still, and down. “You know Mr Red honey?”

The young Slayer nodded. “He wished for me to visit you Sir. I am sorry if I have interrupted”

There was a pause, she could practically feel his eyes running over her like hands. “Well, then I must get the name of his supplier” 

She willed herself not to vomit all over her Jimmy Choo’s. “Thank you” She murmured.

“Come on in honey, you can join me for the show”

Nodding silently she followed him through the open doorway, gaze raising briefly to take in the panoramic views of the city. Graciously accepting a glass of champagne, which her sense of smell confirmed was cheap shit laced with a little Rohypnal, Violet smiled to herself. Oh yes, this place would do her very nicely.

——————————

Leaning down to push his robe open Violet traced the tattoo placed just above his nipple. “An excellent House Mr White, they will be most displeased to learn you have been playing with submissives who do not run to similar tastes”

The bound Dom blinked the sweat from his eyes and snorted quietly, wincing as his lip began to bleed again. “They sent you?” He croaked.

“Oh no” Violet smiled and straightened up, retrieving her clutch from the bar and opening it with a snap. Pulling the sleek gold cigarette case from its insides she clicked it open and drew an elegant gold-tipped smoke. “But I do have an old friend that sits at the Table” She lit up and took a lazy drag.

“You’re going to die whore”

“Eventually, of course” Her words sent out clumsy puffs of smoke. “But not by your hand, or word” Settling herself on one of the barstools, legs crossing daintily, Violet tapped some ash into the gleaming silver dish. “Two days ago I was none too happy to find myself in a hospital bed, an unfortunate mishap whilst engaging wth my normal prey…”

“Prey?”

“Don’t interrupt Mr White, it is very rude”

“Fuck you! Who the hell are you?! How did you take down my men?!”

“I have had some training” Violet smiled again, discarding more ash. “However as I was saying before being so rudely interrupted, I was laying in this bed, in one of those horrifically unflattering gowns they insist you wear, generally feeling sorry myself when this girl was wheeled over to the bed next to me. And, oh my, wasn’t she in a state. Bruised and bloody, stitches in unspeakable places…” She took another pull from the diminishing cigarette. “…anyhoo, we got to talking and your name came up and…voila!” She gestured around the stunning apartment. “Here we all are”

“What?” He hissed. 

Violet stabbed her smoke out against the dirtied silver. “Despite having a pulse and fully functioning sweat glands” She wrinkled her nose. “I would have to class you as something of a monster Mr White” She hopped down from the stool. “And that is something I’m not allowed to ignore” A gentle tap against wood came from the opulent entrance. Violet waggled her brows. “Oooh, more surprise callers”

He began to writhe in his bonds as she swayed over to the door. “What the fuck! What the fuck is happening?! Jan! Morris!”

As he screamed at his henchmen who still showed no desire to wake from blissful, ignorant unconsciousness Violet swung open the door. A hit of expensive perfume assaulted her nostrils. “Melanie, so glad you make it”

“Wouldn’t miss it for the world baby” A woman who could make supermodels weep into their Venti Iced Skinny Hazelnut Macchiatos (Sugar-Free Syrup, Extra Shot, Light Ice, No Whip) strolled past her and came to a stop in front of the bound man. “Hello Mr White, remember me?”

“I…what? No!” He glared at them both as Violet joined her newly found companion. “Both of you are gonna fucking pay!”

“I believe I already have done” Melanie removed the large hat she had been carrying off with aplomb, followed by the sunglasses. She could open her left eye now but it was still shot with blood and she didn’t have Violets ability to make bruises vanish overnight. The skin surrounding it was dark purple and mottled, the veins showing up ugly against her pale skin. The jacket was shed next, hand and finger prints marked the porcelain skin, scabbed over stripes from a belt that had never been requested or deserved littered her exposed back. “I believe that the law is Extreme Sadists must only accept attendance from Masochists, which I am not, and terms, including safe words, must be clearly set out beforehand. I was offered no preparation nor was my safe word accepted during our play” 

“Whores don’t get safe words bitch” Mr White spat bloody saliva on the floor between his feet. 

“Whores are also meant to get paid Mr White” The battered sub pulled a small, ladylike, mother-of-pearl handled knife from her bag. “However, I think we both know this has gone beyond the financial”

The young Slayer took a step back. They had discussed the importance of Mr White being left alive, in fact she had secured his survival with a nice little cash injection which would enable her new friend’s retirement from the game plus the name of a Dom who would understand and provide the right kind of tlc. “I’ll just be over here hon, I want to measure up, pretty sure my furniture is going to fit in perfectly” Violet smiled sweetly at the armed woman. “I have one of those Plume Blanche’s that just does not sit right in the Hampton House”

“Rich bitch”

“Two bit whore”

They grinned at each other before Vi turned her back on the scene, blocking out his cries of vengeance then of mercy as she carefully stepped out the square-footage.

—————————

Two weeks later

Violet swung her legs off the bed and smiled at the reflection of the young woman standing behind her. “Thanks honey, for fitting me in, and the half-comfortable repeated stabbing of my skin”

Her friend snorted as she snapped off the black latex gloves. “Welcome babe, and thank you for the half-hearted validation of my skills”

The blonde Slayer grinned and hopped down, padding over to the the full length mirror to examine the mark now permanently etched into her right hip. She twisted so her abused skin was jutted out towards the glass, eyes raking over her newest tattoo. After a minute Violet nodded. “And perfect as always. I promise next time you can do an original Reed Peyton”

Reed moved behind her, slightly to the left, and brushed an escaped strand of blonde behind Vi’s shoulder. “You know I love to decorate you Miss Rayne” A gentle kiss was placed upon bare skin. “And I happen to have a gift for you my muse, if you can sit for two hours more”

“Intrigued” The young Slayer raised a brow. Violet had visited her old school friend soon after the loss of Sunnydale, with no idea of what she wished to have engraved upon her body, only the desire to never forget that day and the comrades it had stolen away. Reed had not disappointed, the Slayer’s crest half hidden in beautifully crafted roses now covered the top half of Violet’s right arm, her fallen friends names so intrically woven amongst the petals they could only be seen by those who were told to look for them. She had returned several times since then, more often than not with a request for a small, but perfectly copied, talisman to ward off yet one more evil.

“However…”

Violet sighed and rolled her eyes. “Bored already”

“Don’t be petulant” The Domme tapped her shoulder. “Nor interrupt. However…”

She rolled her eyes again but refrained from commenting.

“Good effort babe” 

Violet stuck her tongue out and got a clip across the back of her head for a reply. “Hey!”

“Thats enough” The tattoo artist folded her arms across her chest, red hair falling over one side of her face, emerald eyes turning serious. “I think after this you should stop”

“What?” Violet frowned. 

Her chin was cupped and she was swivelled to look into the hypnotising green. “I will never deny you a mark that keeps you safe Violet Rayne, but I believe that this gift, my final piece for you, will be enough. You will be complete..”

“I’m not some kind of work of art Reed” She shook the gentle grip on her face and stepped back, the confusion obviously showing on her face.

The kindly Domme smiled gently. “Of course you are, with or without the ink. But that is not what I meant” A thumb rubbed gently over the roses, raising goosebumps on Violet’s skin. “I don’t want your body covered in marks of your regrets, your sadness. I understand the need to remember Violet, I try to understand the pain, the grief. But I don’t want to be the one who forces you to remember them everyday. I want you to look at yourself in the mirror and not see the weight of your duty, your destiny. This piece shall be my final gift to you, and if you should return to me with a request that is anything other than a symbol that protects you I must insist it is one to help you mark a happy time. One filled with life and happiness, one that makes your mouth turn up and not your tears to fall”

Violet stared at her before eyes cast downwards to take in her naked top half. The half sleeve was stand out but there were others, dotted artistically across her torso. She looked at them all, some kept her safe but some, indeed, were there to make sure Violet never forgot, that she never stopped remembering, training, fighting. She trailed fingers over a small violet flower that rested below her heart, a memorial to her namesake who had perished not long after Ken, some months before Cari. The young Slayer lowered her head further and huffed a quiet laugh. “I should have taken your collar”

“No, you shouldn’t” The soft southern tones drifted somewhere above her head as Violet scrubbed her hands over her face. “You were right, we are not a match, and your enthusiasm for Doms is tenfold than that for a Mistress”

“Women are cruel” She murmured.

There was a loud snort. “True” Reed’s boots moved a little away from Violet’s lowered eye line. “Shall I fetch your gift?”

Violet nodded silently, gaze not raising as she watched the boots disappear, listened to their heavy falls upon the concrete floor. Only when the room had become silent did she look up, turning back to the mirror and staring into her own crystal blue. Stepping closer to the glass she raised tentative fingers to trace her reflection, much of her skin still showed but for how long if she continued? And what percentage of her body now gave away her past, her weaknesses, her ghosts? “Perhaps it is time?” She whispered, her twin staring questioningly back at her. They stood, Violet Rayne and mirror Violet Rayne, staring back at each other, so lost in their thoughts that they both jumped at the same time as a ring tone blared out into the silence. 

Muttering curses the young woman made her way quickly to her discarded jacket and rooted around in the inside pocket, pulling out the lit up handset and swiping right quickly before she was scolded for not turning her phone off by Reed. “Rayne”

“Miss Rayne”

She rolled her eyes at the clipped tone. “Yes Sir”

“We have a report of Nesters three hours from your location”

Violet gave her phone the middle finger salute, it wasn’t unexpected but the fact they tracked her through this thing, and probably her collar too, grated on her already shot nerves. “Of course Sir, I am just working a vamp lead. Is the location habited?”

There was a pause. She grinned to herself, they hated that they sometimes had to rely on her. “Two hours maximum Miss Rayne. It is uninhabited, for now. New owners are due to move in tomorrow afternoon”

She raised a brow. Usually they could give you a sketchy location at best. “There is an Operative for me to meet?”

“The Operative has moved on. His Slayer has not reached that level in her training”

Violet made ‘blah blah’ motions with her hand whilst scrunching up her nose. “Of course Sir. I will be there before dawn”

“Yes, you will”

There was click in her ear to signal that the caller had obviously reached his tolerance level with their conversation. Violet threw the phone down onto the crumpled paper sheet she had been lying on a few moments ago. “Fuck you too” There was a quiet cough from behind her and the Slayer whirled. A perfectly pencilled red brow was raised, Violet shrugged. “Work. They don’t like it if I’m turned off”

“Who does?” A hand was raised. “That was rhetorical” 

Violet grinned back at her friend, pointing at the piece of tracing paper in her hand. “Is that for me?” The semi-translucent rectangle was held up for her perusal and she stepped closer, eyes running down the ancient lettering. She sucked in a breath. “This is Sumarian”

“A girl get curious after the fourth cryptic symbol” The Domme winked at her. “I thought down your spine, starting at the nape of the neck”

The Slayer ran her touch down the line of letters, lips moving wordlessly as she tried to decipher the familiar and, yet at the same time, foreign symbols. Violet frowned. “Something about light?”

Reed moved closer, her gift dropping down by her side, still secure in those firm hands. “May your path be lit”

Violet shook her head. “Perfect” She whispered. “Thank you”

The red head nodded solemnly. “I wish for your path to always be lit”

A kiss was pressed to her cool cheek. “And I yours”

 

Sunrise, the next day.

Violet stepped out into the haze of a new day, enjoying the smell of dew upon the grass after the suffocating sickly aroma of rot that Nesters always brought with them. She flicked a piece of intestine from her shoulder, wrinkling her nose, before padding lazily down to the rusting iron bench that placed perfectly for a panoramic view of the large lake. Settling down the young Slayer took a calming breath and tried to bring her mind back into focus, eyes counting the sparkles of sun’s first rays hitting the water’s surface.

The new owners would no doubt curse out the damage to their basement walls but at least they wouldn’t be subject to the slow and brutal takeover of their family that the parasitic demons would have inflicted upon them. Hands reaching almost subconsciously to her phone Violet then held down the small button and requested his name. A pretty tune signalled that the technology had understood and was now dialling out across half the known world, something that amazed her as much as true magic every time. Sometimes she had the unsettling thought that perhaps this was the new magic, that it was slowly sucking humanity into it’s orbit before tearing it apart.

The beep of a confirmed connection shook her from her thoughts. In her ear muffled voices told her that he had company, she mentally shrugged. All lawyers got paid very well for answering their phones twenty-four seven, it was not for Vi to worry if and what she had interrupted. 

“Miss Rayne, another exciting request I hope?”

“Would I disturb you for anything less Mr Winchester?”

There was a deep chuckle. “I hope not” The background noise grew fainter as she presumed he’d moved away from whatever crowd chosen to endure his company this evening. “I am happy to report that your penthouse is free from high-end gangsters, clean and ready to receive your esteemed self”

Violet smiled out over the water. “Is the view as good as I remember?”

“You have exquisite taste for one so young”

She rolled her eyes. “I think we are in the same age bracket Mr Winchester. You’d do well to act it sometimes, I have the horrifying image of finding you in a tweed suit next time I swing by the office”

He gave another of those controlled laughs. “I promise you I am not yet shopping for tweed”

“Good, because you’d look like a giant carpet”

“Ah Miss Rayne, always so forthcoming with the flattery” She heard him take a sip of drink. “So, was this was to receive an update on your real estate or is there something else I can sweat at my desk for thirty-six ours to appease my favourite client?”

“You match my flattery then raise some” Violet dug around for her cigarette case. “This shouldn’t take you thirty-six hours Mr Winchester, if it does I will seriously consider taking my business elsewhere. I’m afraid that due to my misguided youth I have inadvertently caused some damage to a property that is due to be re-inhabited in about eight hours…”

“Ah..”

“I shall e-mail you the address, please ensure that a representative is on the doorstep before sunset with an honourable cheque for ten thousand dollars”

There was a pause. “Sounds like a hell of a party”

“It was killer” Violet ended their call. Scrolling through she selected his name and quickly typed out the address with her thumb whilst lighting her cigarette with the other hand. After her step-Dad and Mother had passed she had quickly turned her nose up at the old law firm, amongst the hundreds of recommendations received from allies and foes alike she had finally been drawn to Mr Samuel Winchester. Young and hungry with an uncanny ability to both understand her lifestyle and yet not question it, for many months she had been his only client. Now she was still his most lucrative. Of course his latest position had made her a little uneasy but for now it suited her, and eventually her standing within his new firm would come in handy.

Her phone rang. Smiling a little at the name displayed on the screen Violet didn’t hesitate to answer. “Mistress Peyton, how may I serve?” A spine-tingling gurgle reverberated through her head in reply, she felt the hairs raise across her skin, the sun’s rays suddenly losing their warmth. “Reed? Reed?! Are you ok?!”

More gurgles. Then the lie went dead.

“No, no” She muttered, shaking hands hitting redial. Violet stood as the deathly beep sounded steady in her ear. 

“This phone is currently unavailable. Please try again later”

“No!” The young Slayer threw the phone to the floor. “Shit. SHIT!” Scooping up the handset again Violet broke into a run, heading for the outline of her car parked a safe enough distance away to not be remembered by any suspicious neighbours, all thoughts of stealth going out the window as she tried again and again to reach her friend. Throwing herself into the driver’s seat she bit back a sob as yet again her call failed to connect. She took a breath, gripped the steering wheel tight until her own nails drew blood from her palms. Another two breaths. Starting the engine and throwing it into gear, she picked up the handset and dialled a number she never thought she would have to dial again.

“999, what is your emergency?”


	3. An Opportunity Missed

Three months later

Blood and rain droplets flew from Violet’s sword as it swung a perfect arc to meet with the head of the demon attacking her rear. She spun on her right foot, a delicate pirouette that brought her left foot up to land a solid blow to the third attackers chest. As she righted herself a knife was elegantly plucked from one of the long sleek boots and planted precisely between the rising demons eyes. 

Violet stood, sword hung loosely by her side, raindrops dripping from her hair and running into her eyes, falling from the end of her nose. For a moment she revelled in the adrenaline, the pumping of her heart and the straining of her lungs, the silence of her soul. As the beats slowed and she became aware of the chill from the rain Vi cast her gaze over the things that had foolishly tried to make her dead. Wiping the almost blinding wetness from her eyelashes she refused to register the hint of salt taste upon her lips. Violet Rayne didn’t get sad, she got angry. And for a while afterwards she didn’t have to feel anything at all. Re-holstering her sword and retrieving her knife from the demon’s head the young Slayer started a steady and sure pace back to her car despite the slippery mud beneath her feet. 

Sitting in the dry only minutes later, with blowers on high and steam rising from her sodden self Violet rolled her eyes as the phone began to ring. Sighing she dried off her hands on the preprepared towel slung over the passenger seat before snatching up the sleek handset. “Rayne”

“Vi, how very formal of you”

“Lehane, witty as always”

“I try”

She rested the urge to roll her eyes again. “Is this important O’ Dark One ‘cause my hair is starting to dry all frizzy”

“It dries fluffy and a bit curly, its cute”

“I am not cute”

There was a quiet snort down the receiver. “Sorry babe, but you are”

“Lets reach a point yeah?”

This time a sigh reached her ears. “The Concilium have been in touch”

Violet stared out into the night through the windscreen, blurring out the hyperactive wipers. She shivered despite the hot air surrounding her. “Ok?”

“They’ve found another Slayer”

The young woman propped the phone between her chin and shoulder, reached for her thermos. “Ok?”

“I want you on the team to retrieve her”

“Me?”

“Yes, you. You’re my best Miss Rayne, and only half a days drive away, if the baby Summers’s tracking spell is as good as she says”

Violet felt the burn in her chest. “Stop tracking me Faith, I mean it”

“It’s been over three months since your punishment expired, why haven’t you come back?” The Head of Paris House hesitated. “I’ve tried to respect your decision Vi, you know I have. After Reed…I understand…I’ve covered for you, lied for you…but we lost a good friend, an amazing Slayer when you left. It’s not the same…besides the Concilium watchdogs are getting suspicious” 

“Then tell them, let them come”

“Vi..”

She ran a finger over the leather that still encircled her throat whilst eying her tired reflection in the rearview mirror. “They don’t trust me…”

“They’re not important, its us you fight beside….”

“Apparently not that well”

“Vi…”

“There’s too many Faith…I’ve brought this to too many” She stubbornly turned her minds eye away from the tattoo artist’s twisted and bloodied body, shooing away the image of lifeless emerald green. The young Slayer knew that the Head Detective, Barnard, liked her for the murder, after all she’d been there only a few hours beforehand and she’d been the one to call it in, Reed had called her phone not the police. But Violet was now back in France which meant his case hadn’t been strong enough to refuse her departure from England, however the man seemed as disturbingly persistent as herself, it would not surprise her to have not heard the last of him. 

“We’ve already had it brought baby girl”

“No” She had hacked into the Coroners Office computer system, forced herself to read the report and intently study the graphic photos. Reed hadn’t been killed by any demon Vi knew of, the marks matched a blade not teeth and monsters didn’t wipe away prints or scuff over their footprints. They wanted their torture out there, loud and proud. And the tracing paper with faded Sumarian stuck to the mirror, blood spattered across it, sent a clear message. Wether it was Reed’s connection to Violet personally or to the Slayer world in general didn’t matter, staring at the flickering image on her laptop screen the young Slayer had vowed to never allow anyone in again.

“Violet…”

“I can’t…I’m so sorry but I just..”

“Now you listen to me, listen! You think B and I didn’t go through this shit?! B especially. Everyone, and I mean everyone, in our world is there because they want to be. Part of this shitty deal is the guilt and the grief, and the ghosts” There was a sigh. “If I can make it anyone can, right? Your shit started way before Cari and Reed babe. You spiralled after Ken, we all tried to warn you. You shouldn’t have isolated yourself”

Small indentations from her tightening fingers appeared on the thermos. Finding Kennedy alone in a locked and darkened room, splayed out in a pool of her own blood, was the first time Violet remembered being truly scared. Out there somewhere was something that could take down a Slayer and then disappear into the dark as quickly and as quietly as it had come, what worried Violet more was that there’d been no reports of anything similar happening since. Wherever the fucker had gone she doubted it was because it couldn’t get back. “I’m hanging up..”

“No! No, I’m sorry” Faith softened her tone. “Can you please do this, for me? No strings”

Violet huffed a breath. “Is this because I’m closest?”

There was a moments silence. “She’s in a military facility”

Vi hissed a breath. “Fuck off”

“Is that a ‘fuck off yes’ or a ‘no way, fuck off’?”

The young Slayer stared back at herself in the narrow rearview mirror. She look tired, beaten down, but inside Violet could feel it. Her months of enforced exile, both self-imposed and otherwise, had sharpened her, narrowed her power down to a perfect, and deadly, point. She had fed the white hot rage that burned unceasingly in her chest and then tamed it until it was merely another weapon at her disposal, allowing the heat to rise behind her eyes and the flames to lick her insides as she tore apart those dumb enough to challenge her. Perhaps this was what had made B so strong, fighting alone, no back-up, no teams. Violet Rayne smiled into her reflection. “I go alone”

“No”

She sighed. “I’m not going in with unknowns, this’ll need speed and stealth not running around trying to cover panicking newbies’s arses”

Faith snorted quietly. “Your inner bitch has been working out since I saw you last”

“Thank you”

“What if me and Dawnie promise to try not to get under your feet O’Great One?” 

Violet raised a brow at her reflection. “Huh“ Then she smiled. “Lets party”

——————————

12 hours later, Marseille, Trust Base

Violet propped herself against the cool metal of the van’s rear doors and lit up, shutting the cigarette case closed with a satisfying snap and taking a long drag. As she blew smoke up and into the night air two figures appeared either side to join in her perusal of the burning buildings half a mile away. The case was taken unaskingly from her hand and she heard another tobacco filled cylinder being smoothly drawn from its place. “Don’t you let your sister know you’ve started doing that, or that I was your supplier”

There was a quiet deep chuckle from the other side. “I second that, also hand them over”

“Seriously, one of you buy a fucking pack yeah?”

“Share baby girl, it’s good for your moral compass”

“Bite me Lehane”

The other young woman giggled. “I’ve missed you guys. And FYI? Her highness doesn’t scare me as much as she does you”

Violet rolled her eyes, flames flickering over their surface. “She doesn’t scare me”

“Bullshit” Faith’s stream of smoke joined with the two others. “And FYI? I have no problem admitting she still scares the crap outta me”

“Thats because she beat you up that time”

“Fuck off Rayne”

They stood in a silence for a moment, the aroma of tobacco filling the air around them, the flames casting a faint and eerie glow over the view before them. Two of them could hear the cries of the late building’s occupants as they ran to escape the suffocating smoke and blistering heat. Violet settled back to enjoy the brief feeling of contentment that came with a successful mission, and that fire seemed to bring more and more often. Eventually a throat was cleared. “Do we really think the fire was necessary?”

Violet shrugged and dropped her cigarette, reaching instinctively for another. “The repairs shall keep them busy, give them time to think about the wisdom of imprisoning and experimenting on a baby Slayer”

“I don’t think they really understood what they had in their grasp”

She turned to her old friend and trainer. “IF thats true it only makes it worse, Anna is fifteen. Stolen from her family, taken to some concrete cell in the middle of nowhere and drugged to the eyeballs whilst being poked and prodded about” An elegant brow was raised. “There’s more to this Faith. She was hallucinating, she thought we were vamps and yet she’s supposedly never met one in her life. Where did she get those images from huh? How did they know that face would cause such terror?”

The older Slayer stared back at her before sighing and ditching her own smouldering cigarette. “I think we all need to think long and hard about wether we want the answers to those questions Vi” Her boot ground the last of the tobacco into the ground. “And hope that poor Miss Anna in there won’t remember when she wakes up”

“Remember what?” Dawn dug the keys out of her back pocket and handed them over.

“Whatever she saw in that shit hole, she don’t need the nightmares nor the Concilium fishing about her mind for answers” Faith waved a hand towards the impressive blaze as a building fell to the ground in compliance of the dramatic gesture. “And that a fellow Slayer knocked her out in one punch”

“She was trying to stake you with a pencil Dark One” Violet grinned and dropped her second smoke. “You’ve gotten soft behind that desk”

Faith flipped her off as they rounded opposite sides of the van. “I was attempting to extract her without inflicting any damage”

“And you called Violet Rayne?” The youngest Summers snorted as she slid into the middle seat, making way for Violet. “Now, there was your first mistake”

“Bite me Summers”

The oldest present Slayer started the van up with a sigh, turning to them as the engine idled quietly. “I believe the words you used were stealth and speed Miss Rayne?”

“Yeah, if I’d gone alone” Violet rolled her eyes dramatically. “And that was the first military base I’ve visited where even the teaboy can shoot straight with both eyes open” She rubbed roughly over the tingling spot on her arm. “And those laser things stung like fuck”

Faith pointed at her before pulling away. “Now, they were new. I’ll give you that”

The young Slayer toed off her boots, resting her feet on the dash and flexing her toes with a contended sigh. “Yeah, would have been nice to have a heads up. Hey, new tech abounds here, bring body armour and Sudocrem” She examined her nails lazily, brow furrowing slightly as her sharp eyes caught a small chip in one. “You should have let me keep one”

The driver rolled her eyes but kept them fixed on the road. The local wildlife liked to check out the rare sighting of light in their usually dark filled night. “I think the rest of the world would notice fried demon bodies turning up all over the place”

“Please” Violet rolled her eyes back. “I’d have just used it for stopping power, still have finished them off correctly”

“Oh honey” Dawn patted her knee. “You are the stopping power”

——————————

One week later

Jack sighed as his phone rang. “What part of ‘no calls’ do these people not understand?” He scowled at the three silently grinning men sat at the other side of his desk before hitting the speaker button. “O’Neill, and this had better be an ‘imminent alien invasion’ interruption”

“I’m sorry to disturb you Sir, I know you said no interruptions but, um..” He frowned, his newly acquired secretary sounded a little thrown. In the month they’d been working together she hadn’t battered a very elegant mascaraed eyelash at the more unusual happenings the base seemed to bring, he had an unspoken suspicion she was some kind of robot planted by Landry.

“It’s ok Miss Hendricks, please..”

“Um, I have someone on the phone called Miss Summers. She was, um, most insistent about speaking with you…”

“Ah”

“There was some mention of raining down an unholy terror Sir…” For someone who had probably just been threatened with several unspeakable acts of violence the woman’s voice was surprisingly even.

“I understand Miss Hendricks, my apologies. Please put her through”

“Yes Sir, thank you”

Jack reached froward and picked up the receiver, automatically cutting out the speaker. At least two of his visitors were having the good grace to pretend to study the files in front of them however the third was still smirking steadfastly at him. He flipped him off as the click in his ear told him that Miss Summers was now on the line. “Good PA’s are hard to find you know?”

“Sorry” The voice on the other end didn’t sound sorry at all. “But she was being frustratingly stubborn”

“She was following orders Miss Summers, orders not to interrupt my important meeting”

“You don’t seem like someone who enjoys important meetings”

Jack pinched the bridge of his nose. “I don’t, hence why I like to get them done as quickly as possible”

There was a pause. “Well then I’ll make this quick General” He refused to wince at the change in tone from light teasing to clipped, she’d even thrown in his rank to drive her point home. “A team has successfully retrieved the young woman whom you were so kind enough to inform us about. I wanted to personally thank you for bringing the information straight to me, it means that she will receive the care that she needs to hopefully integrate successfully into our society” There was a quiet sigh. “I also had some crazy notion you may want to know that she is alive and well, bar being a little undernourished and…well, you know, crazed. We’re hoping the meds wear off soon” 

He tipped back in his chair, eyes focusing on the hand that was holding his pen, frowning a little as he realised it was beating out a soft rhythm on the pad below it. The General hadn’t unknowingly displayed that little tell for many years. He placed it gently down and let his hand rest softly on the wooden surface of the desk. “I would like to know, thank you for taking the time to inform me” Jack carefully plucked his next words from the thousands rushing to pass through his lips. “It is a relief to hear that she escaped the fire….” He was sure there was the tiniest intake of breath on the other end of the line. “I am not a big fan of the Trust but still….a tragic accident”

A soft, tinkling laugh sounded quietly in his ear, raising goosebumps across his skin and calling to attention every hair on his body. “I would go so far as to say an accident General, but it does lead me nicely on to the other matter I am calling about…”

——————————

Colonel Mitchell watched his General carefully as the older man replaced the receiver as deliberately as he had disposed of his pen a few moments earlier. The two men sat either side of him didn’t know their CO as well as he did, the man had iron clad control over even the most minuscule of body movements and the pen tapping had been as subtle as a right hook to the jaw. “Everything ok Sir?”

O’Neill sat forward in his chair, scrubbed his chin thoughtfully before lacing his fingers together, elbows resting on the edge of his desk. “I hope so Mitchell”

He raised a brow. “So do I?”

The General snorted quietly and resumed his relaxed position post phone call. “Luckily that is not our concern. However I do have some news Slayer-wise”

“Miss Rayne?” The man to his left leant forward, Major Winchester had been appointed the young woman’s Guardian Dom after their briefing with Miss Rosenberg and the Queen Slayer herself. The headstrong marine had been identified as the most suitable match for their newest personnel member. Cameron had watched with amusement as he’d tried to wriggle out of it without causing offence to the strongest being on Earth and her companion, whom apparently could turn you into a rat with a snap of her fingers.

O’Neill held up a hand. “Miss Rayne is alive and kicking…perhaps a little too much” The last few words were murmured quietly but, Cameron noted, loud enough for them to hear. It was enough that they had been spoken at all, the man never did anything by accident.

“Um..”

The Major’s interruption was waved away. “The Concilium do not believe that Miss Rayne is ready to move away from their watchful gaze, nor would she flourish under a military House. So..” He tapped the blank piece of paper in front of him. “They have assigned a new Slayer”

“We are supposed to be returning to the city tomorrow Sir” Cameron raised another brow. “If I remember correctly Miss Rayne’s appointment involved a lot of meetings…a lot”

“Yes I have fond memories of them too Mitchell” The General’s lips twitched. “But it seems this situation has allowed some leeway. The Chairs recognise that this is their decision and so ultimately they are answerable to still honour our agreement, however short the notice. The new selection is Miko, younger than Violet but should still be quite capable of showing your Wraith what their insides look like”

“Younger?” Now Major Sheppard was also leaning in. “Even Miss Rayne at eighteen raised some concerns about her care and the terms of Guardianship….how old is this Miko?”

The General fixed him with steely blue. “Sixteen”

“No”

“Sheppard…” Cameron frowned at his old friend.

“Mitch….sixteen? And we’re sending her out into battle? And what about the aftercare, her Guardianship? The youngest marine on the city is twenty-five, even if play was legal at sixteen that is not something I could agree to”

Cameron opened his mouth to reply but his General got there first. “Major Sheppard, Miko is already being sent into battle, has been for nearly a year now. At least under your command you can control the level of danger she is in, and provide the backup and care that she needs. In regards to sex, Slayers are taught from the beginning how to manage the stresses and strains of their calling without full play. She will require attention and affection, affirmation of her successes…until she turns eighteen that is all you need to provide. And I know your Command House is quite capable of providing that?”

His Military Commander sat in silence, Cameron reached ten in his head before it was broken. “Of course Sir”

“Good” O’Neill nodded. “Miko will arrive this evening, please make her welcome” 

They all nodded. Major Winchester cleared his throat and was met with a questioning, if slightly impatient, stare. “Miss Rayne…?”

“Was not aware of the upcoming change in her posting” The General smiled gently. “And is continuing blissfully unaware at Paris House, under the watchful eyes and loving care of it’s Head, who is also her closest friend”

“She didn’t know about Atlantis? She would have been arriving tomorrow morning”

O’Neill sighed. “I’m afraid it is not for us to judge on these matters. It appears the Concilium believe it unnecessary to allow their charges a voice when it comes to the big decisions. They are treated as soldiers and are expected to follow orders unquestioningly despite where they may take them”

Sheppard frowned. “Our soldiers are given more grace than that”

“And I repeat, not our world Major”

Winchester tapped the file on his knee absently. “She never knew, about me?”

The General shook his head. “No Major”

The young marine nodded thoughtfully. “Did she burn down the Trust’s Marseille base?”

“I don’t believe arson has been reported”

“Right” 

“Right” As O’Neill nodded and began to detail their newest Slayer’s requirements and history Cameron looked over the now redundant Guardian Dom from the corner of his eye. Perhaps the Major had warmed to the idea of Miss Rayne more than he had been letting on.


	4. Curiosity Killed The Cat

Paris House

Violet smiled as she felt the presence on the veranda, eyes focused on the disturbingly picturesque graveyard in front of her. “Hey Dawn Patrol”

“Please stop fucking calling me that” The pretty young sub stole a cigarette, lighting up as she propped her elbows on the iron railing.

“Smoking, cursing…Auntie Faith and I are very proud” She hopped up onto the thin strip of metal, balancing with a cat-like ease as she elegantly crossed her legs and flicked a piece of imaginary dirt from her trousers.

“Bite me Rayne” Dawnie twisted her head to frown up at her. “You look like shit”

Violet smiled. “No I don’t”

The youngest Summers sighed. “Ok fine, you’re still annoyingly hot….”

“Flattery will get you everywhere babe” She waggled her brows.

Dawn wrinkled her nose. “Eww, firstly you have way too many girlie parts” She held up first one finger then another to mark her points. “Secondly there’s only room for one bratty Princess in my bed and I’m already sleeping there”

“Touche” Violet offered a small salute. “But from one Princess to another, you can totally ramp up the brattishness a few notches. Really work it. They love a challenge”

“Great, I’ll keep that in mind” Eyes that were almost as blue as Violet’s rolled back at her. “But to return to my original point…” A half smoked cigarette was waved at her. “…hot you may still be but you’re not rocking the usual jaw-dropping effect these days”

“I’m insulted”

“Good” Dawn stubbed out her smoke in the commandeered plant pot. “You look tired, you’ve lost too much weight..”

Violet narrowed her ice blue eyes. “Be careful Summers”

“Please” She sneered “You don’t scare me” The young woman folded her arms across her chest and stuck out a stubborn chin. “You’re not eating Vi, or sleeping. I’ve watched you this week, you’re living off caffeine and nicotine, mixed in with large amounts of alcohol”

“My dietary choices are mine to make Dawn” The Slayer jumped down from her perch to face off with her challenger, begrudging the spark of pride when her old friend stood firm. She tapped her bare throat. “No collar, which means I’m in charge”

“Yeah, at least you finally took off that ugly leash the Concilium forced on you”

Violet hissed quietly.

“I saw you in that shit hole where we found Anna, you’re impressive I’ll give you that. Those months of exile really honed your connection to the monster inside, but you’re letting it take over”

She growled quietly. “Who the fuck do you think you are? And who you’re talking to?” 

Dawn unfolded her arms, reached out to gently grasp Violet’s hands. The Slayer fought the urge to push her away. “I’m talking to my friend. And I think I’m her friend. And I’m scared” She squeezed lightly before dropping her hold. “Don’t let it get a hold on you Vi, isn’t it bad enough we lose so many to our enemy without losing ourselves in the grief? A Slayer has to feel, to care…she needs a home and family to win her every battle. If she relies on her demon for everything then eventually she becomes that demon. I don’t want to lose you, and I don’t want to see other Slayers have to try to take you out”

Violet sighed. “Slightly overdramatic Miss Summers”

“No its not. I know you were planning on leaving again tomorrow when I do but I really want you to think about staying. You need them, this House, even the ones who are wary around you. You’re coming up fast on Faith, think of the advantage these girls would have with both of you tutoring them, with your insight into what its like to hunt alone? Think how much more powerful you would be if you just took better care of yourself, stepped up your training, ate right ” The youngest Summers gave her a weak smile. “And those assholes are getting suspicious, do you really want Faith to keep risking her own place here by covering for you?” 

The Slayer huffed quietly before offering her own smile. “Never”

“Then stop being a selfish insular bitch” Dawn stuck her tongue out at Violet’s middle-fingered salute before gesturing at the view beyond the veranda. “Now, do you mind? I want to say goodbye, and there’s stuff we shouldn’t talk about too near the house”

She raised a brow. “And yet tearing apart my lifestyle choices in earshot was ok?”

“I wanted to be able to call for backup” Miss Summers grinned before nodding her head towards the gravestones. “Please, I don’t want to go alone”

——————————

They stood at the far end of the graveyard, a young girl named Hannah receiving the final single flower from Dawn, her friend murmuring a short prayer to their Goddess. Behind them bright pink heads ruffled slightly in the breeze as they lay before the slab of stone marking each small tomb. Violet traced the cool granite and sighed. “Well, this was depressing. Thanks”

“Its become a bit of a tradition when I visit other Houses” Dawn smiled sadly. “And I meet most of them when they first pass through Cleveland”

The young Slayer nodded. “It sucks”

“Oh yes” The Queen Slayer’s sister sat cross legged in front of Hannah’s gravestone, the gold engraving glinting in the sunlight showing that she had been only sixteen on the day that she fell. Violet didn’t even remember what she looked like. She swallowed back the rising saliva at the thought, was thankful when her companion distracted her by speaking again. “An army of Slayers, that dream was the only thing my sister and the Concilium ever had in common. For Buffy it was about not being alone anymore, stopping young women dying horribly and in the dark, a family who understood and supported” She sighed quietly. “The ironic thing? You still die alone, and in the dark”

“Another rousing speech Summers”

Dawn rolled her eyes. “Listen Rayne, you might learn something” Violet waved a lazy hand for her to continue, tipped her head back and closed her eyes against the warming rays. “They were ready for you all, they had a plan. And however powerful you boast you are each one of you still answers to them. They isolate, manipulate and lie to you”

Vi twisted her head and cracked open one eye. “Are you inciting a revolution?”

Her friend shook her head, a curtain of shimmering brown falling across her face before being swept back. “I’m trying to make you see how important it is that you stay, make the effort with the others. The Concilium are so strong, they have assets that are still unknown, powerful allies, favours owed. Those Chairs that you face each time you are summoned are greedy, heartless and very paranoid about losing their sway…i.e. you”

The Slayer raised a brow. “Me?”

“All of you dumbass” Dawn rolled her eyes. “I can only pick up little titbits of information back at Cleveland House but it feels like they’re in the middle of a big push. You know, making a play for even more influence. and I can’t shake this feeling that you’re all in trouble”

Violet straightened and frowned at the other young woman. “Are you serious?”

There was an affirmative nod. “A few weeks ago I asked Buffy why she didn’t turn on them now that there was more Slayers, she’d been dragged to yet another meeting and had returned home deflated and upset. She said that for now you needed them, the House of Sineya has no chair at the Grand Table of Houses, and its pretty broke. Plus the Concilium are very careful with how much information they share, making sure that they will always be needed”

“Shitty I grant you but still…”

“Plus at the moment if the Slayers decided they no longer needed the resources that the Concilium bring to the table the battle would be pretty well-matched, with heavy losses on each side without even touching on the fallout, civilian losses etc. She couldn’t ask the babies to sacrifice themselves, especially when victory wasn’t guaranteed” Dawn lowered her voice. “I also got the feeling that she wasn’t sure she’d have full support from the younger Slayers, they’ve only known the order we have in place now, can you imagine the chaos of two Slayer armies meeting in battle?”

She blew out a breath. “Shit” Vi pulled her hair away from her neck and fastened it on top of her head with the tie around her wrist. The heat from the sun was almost unbearable today and she could feel the moisture gathering on her skin under the thick veil of blonde. “Well, I could help financially, and we could fight for a seat at the Table but…I understand her concerns”

Dawn raised a brow. “You’d do that…just hand over the cash?”

The blonde grinned. “I had to buy three houses this year just to keep the tax bill down”

“Hot and rich, I despise you” Her friend grinned back. “And also sweet, but I’m not sure even your seemingly bottomless bank account could help for long. Just think how huge our organisation is now”

Violet shrugged. “Well the wage bill would certainly decrease once I’d fired the Chairs” 

Summers shifted a little. “You mean make them unemployed right?”

“I could have their ashes turned into one giant diamond”

“Disturbing”

“Thank you”

There was a faint call from the house to signal dinner was ready and Dawn waved a hand to show it’d been heard before resting it on Violet’s knee. “One more thing…”

“Uh oh”

“Stop it” The younger Summers narrowed her gaze. “So my sister was fashionably late for our meeting just before I flew out here and she may have left some papers on her desk…”

“And snooping, my heart swells with pride”

“Please Vi” Dawn huffed impatiently. 

“Ok, ok” She held her hands up in mock surrender. “Please, go on”

“Gee, thanks” Her friend muttered. “Well, your name caught my eye and I, well you’re my friend…” The Slayer waited in silence for her friend to spit it out. Dawn seemed to shake herself. “Um, ok. Have you ever heard of the SGC?”

Violet raised a brow. “No”

“Oh, well they’re our newest ally, apparently. I don’t know much about them, just that they’re run by the Airforce and they do some top secret stuff that involves them getting beaten up a lot”

“Kindred spirits”

Dawn grinned. “Minus the superpowers. My sister also has the hots for their General” She held out a hand before Violet could make a remark. “Please don’t. Anyways I believe they’re paying the Concilium a nice chunk of money, plus providing insider knowledge, to have a few Slayers on side” She looked at Vi, blue eyes sad and serious. “You were supposed to be the latest”

Violet blinked. “I was?”

The other woman nodded. “Yes. I challenged Buffy about it and she admitted putting your name forward, thought it would help you to get away from the prying eyes of the Concilium plus a fresh start, new things to beat up etc”

She nodded. “Ok, I get it”

“They wouldn’t let Buffy tell you until the last minute but now its all been called off. They think you’re too unstable to be away from their influence, they’re suspicious about your whereabouts for the last couple of months, and that fire at Marseilles sealed it. They’ve sent someone else in your place. Buffy text me this morning”

Violet shrugged. “Am I supposed to be upset about this?”

“Yes, you are! You are so frustrating…”

“Dawnie..”

“Don’t Dawnie me…this would have been perfect for you Vi…”

“How can I play nice for a reward I don’t know thats coming?” She smiled. “Thank you for telling me but its ok. And now I know they think I’m unstable, always handy”

Dawn threw her hands in the air. “Fine, I give up. Just promise me you’ll think about it, properly. What it means. And promise you’ll play nice for a while? Buffy said she’ll push for you next time they’re recruiting”

She huffed. “Fine”

“Promise to Goddess?”

“Goddess” Muttered Violet. “Fine, I promise. Happy?”

She was given a big, beautiful smile. “Yes, thank you”

—————————

Two months later…

Violet stood halfway down the stairs, foot hanging just above the next step. Some of the latest recruits for Paris House were gathered in the hall below, looking over the photos hung upon the walls there.

“Well, I defo wouldn’t want to be put on her team. Did you see her earlier? Cold much?”

“I dunno, her outfit was rocking”

“I heard she’s gotten at least three girls killed. Deserted once, ran away”

“No shit?”

“Yeah, desertion. It’s dirty man”

“She didn’t look like she’d run from anything”

“No, I defo heard it right. Got a girl killed cause she was late to the fight. One of the originals”

There was a low whistle. “Shit”

“Yeah, she’s dirty man. And did you see her eyes? There’s no feeling there girl, cold as fuck”

“I heard she’s lost it, you know, gone a bit gaga. Screw loose. Likes to hunt alone. Nah, she’s dangerous. Wouldn’t run with her for all the money in the world”

Violet placed her foot gently back on the stair, tipped her head back to discourage the tears threatening, closed her eyes. The hand on her shoulder took her by surprise, she flinched, eyes snapping open. Whirling she came face to face with sad chocolate eyes. There was a sympathetic smile. “Had worse associated with my name babe”

She swallowed and nodded. “I heard”

There was a muffled but throaty chuckle. “Sure you did” Faith squeezed her shoulder before dropping her hand. “You have to face it Vi, otherwise it’ll haunt you forever”

“They’re right”

“No, they’re fifteen year old girls who love a bit of gossip” There was a nod, dark waves bouncing over pale slender shoulders. “Keep proving ‘em wrong Slayer”

Violet scrubbed a hand over her face. “I don’t think I want to”

“That’s dangerous talk”

“Coming from the Dark Slayer?”

“I always thought that name was pretty cool” The older Slayer gave an obscene wink. “I ran, it didn’t work. Eventually, we all come back. We all have to face our demons, and not the ones we can beat the shit out of neither”

“What if I like my demons? What if they make me stronger?”

Warm breath puffed over her ear as the other woman leant closer. “It’s a trick babe, they lure you in with the power then they eat up your soul”

——————————

Faith picked her way through the attic room littered with boxes and the empty suitcases of girls that now called Paris their home, making for the small open door that was swinging gently on its hinges in the night air. The smell of tobacco and red wine drifted invitingly up her nostrils. Stepping out onto the excuse that was a balcony she pulled the door to behind her and settled down in front of it, back pressed against the hard wood. Draining her own drink she reached unaskingly for the bottle between them and filled her empty glass to the brim. Faith sniffed the deep red liquid before taking a sip. “Good stuff”

“Thank my trust fund”

She snorted and savoured another, deeper, gulp before sliding a smoke from the proffered packet. Cupping her hand around the presented flame Faith took a long pull from the cigarette, relishing it’s taste and the burning sensation in her throat. Staring out into the clear night sky she pushed away the weird feeling of trepidation and got to the point. “So, whats it to be?” 

“This isn’t working. I want to hunt alone again” The other woman’s profile was briefly illuminated as she puffed slowly.

“The Concilium wouldn’t allow it”

“It can be hidden here, we know that”

Faith sighed, scraped a hand through her waves, noticing that she really should finally get around to showering tonight. “Not forever Vi, someone would slip even if they didn’t mean to and…I love these girls babe, I really do, but they’re sending younger and younger all the time. Unknowns, ones who have only known this new order. They will naturally be more loyal to the Concilium”

“You’re just reinforcing my belief that I shouldn’t form part of a team, I won’t answer to the newbies and I won’t lead those who don’t trust me, or who would happily rat me out to our esteemed leaders”

“Vi…”

“I’m the last Hellmouth original in Paris House Faith, doesn’t that make you think? Or wonder what the fuck its all about it and what is happening? Four more of my friends have died since we crawled out of that hole, six of us left. Who’s next?”

“I know sometimes it feels like that Vi but it’s just our sucky jobs you know? We lose people, we’re fighting a fucked up, powerful enemy…”

“No, no something is not right. And its not just me that thinks it, and no I’m not telling you” The young Slayer turned to face her. “I’ve been thinking lately about the originals, the ones who made it to Buffy, we got the biggest hit from the Scythe. We’re strong Faith, I know you and her Highness noticed, sparring against others our own age we kicked arse…Cari took down nearly a hundred Turok-Han in that cavern alone and yet just one got the better of her that night…”

“You’re trying to comfort yourself with these thoughts babe, whatever the Concilium say it was not your fault…”

“I don’t give a shit if it was anymore…the fact is Cari should have kicked arse, the baby Slayers survived so why not her? Something is happening to us” Violet flicked her cigarette over the edge of the balcony and reached for another.

Faith eyed her curiously. “You really believe this?”

She was met with a steely gaze. “Yes”

The older Slayer rolled her neck and sighed, gazing briefly up as the moon’s light was blocked by a single small cloud. “I’ll do you a deal Slayer, I turn a blind eye to this little theory of yours and any consequent digging and you spend your on-the-clock time playing nice. You recruit a team, you hunt, you write reports” 

“No team”

“Yes” Faith turned back to look at the other woman, grasping her chin gently but firmly, forcing her to look straight into her eyes. “I fought hard for this redemption shit, I fight hard for you and the other girls. I won’t let you fuck this up for me, or for you. You have first choice on your team, recruit the weirdest fuckers you can find but you recruit. You’re tough, and yeah you and the others are as powerful as shit, but you need to learn to play the game baby. Get me?”

For a moment she thought a punch to the face was coming then Violet nodded, dislodging her grasp. “I get you”

——————————

1 Year and 6 Months Later

Violet came to with a start as cold water hit her face and chest, head flinging back in surprise before a pained scream was ripped from her lips at the raging fire shooting through her brain and down into her neck. She choked back the sob that so desperately wanted to burst through her throat and very carefully straightened her head, eyes squeezed shut. She licked the water from her dry lips and strained her ears for any sound. Wherever she was, whoever had woken her, was very very quiet.

Attempting to open her eyes Violet quickly realised that one was already swollen shut, that would account for the banging head and sore muscles. She searched her memories for how she had come to be here. Whilst the room slowly swam into focus, a dark shadowy figure in her peripheral vision, she moaned quietly in despair. Flashes of unimaginable pain from fists and feet, blades, fire and ice assaulted her senses, it was like this every time she regained consciousness, for a moment she would be confused, would have wiped her memory clean and then it would all come rushing back. 

Violet looked down at herself, another groan as her screaming muscles protested at the movement. This time she was tied to a chair, still dressed in the clothes she had been captured in but now stained and torn, blood seeping through from the wounds upon her skin, droplets from the countless nosebleeds and splatter from the unrelenting hits to the face all showing in stark contrast against the white of her tee. She blinked dazedly, the strange thought that now it almost looked like she’d been bleeding white against red moving judderingly through her tortured mind.

Her legs, seemingly so strangely far away from the rest her, were bound to the chair by the knees and ankles, the jeans she had pulled on Goddess knows how many days ago ripped so totally they hardly covered the mottled skin, dark purple blossoms of bruises showing through the obliterated fabric, blackened denim surrounding patches of reddened skin as it slowly healed the burns. She rolled her head back, fighting down the nausea, surely this time, this time it had to end. At first there had been the hope of rescue, then there had been the rage, the plans of revenge when she escaped but now….please Goddess, she was so tired now, let it be done.

Violet gingerly blinked back the last of the blurriness in her one good eye, shakily focusing on her torturer. She swallowed what little saliva she could conjure up down her dry and scratchy throat before parting her lips, feeling the lower one split once again. “Why?” She whispered.

There was a deep, throaty chuckle that caused Violet to shiver. “Baby girl wants a reason” Another quiet laugh then a weight was pressing down on her aching thighs and she was staring up into cruel darkened eyes, eyes that once shone with the depth of the most expensive chocolate that man could buy. There was a gentle smile that seemed not to fit in the face it lighted upon. “Would that make it better baby girl? Would a reason make the pain go away? Would it make your death worthwhile?”

A single tear fell from the younger Slayer’s open eye and ran down her cheek. She nodded carefully. “Yes”

Her captor laughed before pressing a kiss to Violet’s face, tongue catching up the salt water, running it slowly and deliberately across the full lips. Leaning in she whispered into Violet’s ear, warm breath moistening her dry skin. “I don’t like you”

Violet felt more tears fall, her throat close impossibly tighter.

“Not many people do you know?” The weight disappeared and the other woman wandered casually over to the table set to one side, fingers running over the weapons set out there. “In fact, I think that our House, and probably the rest of the world, would be infinitely better off without you. You’ve caused me a lot of problems over the years Miss Rayne, and I don’t remember a thank you ever passing those pretty lips” A hand curled around the hilt of a sword, its blade wide but thin, silver cut with engravings glinting off the low light. 

“Lying” She murmured.

“Nope” Faith grinned at her as she turned back, sword in hand. “You’re quick tempered, selfish, spoilt, arrogant and oh so very ignorant baby Slayer. For all your talk of great power look where you’ve ended up..” A hand swept over the bare room that had become Violet’s own personal hell. “You think any half-decent Slayer would allow herself to finish up here hmm? It’s survival of the fittest baby girl, time to cull the weak”

The words washed over her as Violet stared at the new addition to the decor of a decapitated Turok-Han, frowning slightly as her head lolled about uselessly on her damaged neck and shoulders.

“Oh yes…” Another manic grin. “FYI, I’m your search and rescue Vi, nearly time for me to call it in” Faith clasped her hands to her breasts, sword hanging loosely down her front. “I was too late, I can never forgive myself…blah, blah, blah”

Violet huffed a laugh, ignoring the pain shooting though her body as she did so. “Someone will stop you”

“Maybe, but not in time for you Violet” Faith stepped forward, sword rising. “And there’s not going to be too many questions raised about you, after all its going to be a hell of a lot better with you gone”

She felt her chin wobble, tried to fight the urge to burst into tears, hell, even tied to a chair, body and face a bloody mess there was no way she was going down sobbing. “Why the torture?”

The older Slayer sighed theatrically and lowered the sword. “Because, baby girl, I learnt pretty quick that a fight and a kill give a good rush but a prey surrendering of their own free will, so broken they’ll accept death, is a high people have been paying millions trying to achieve through snorting shit up their noses and shooting up” She moved around Vi and the younger Slayer felt her bonds being loosed until, if she wanted to, she could stand up, maybe punch the bitch who had made her life hell in the very recent past in the face.

Violet sat, head bowed whilst a thousand thoughts tumbled through her battered mind. She raised her gaze to meet her killer eye to eye. “I don’t want another family who doesn’t want me, and I don’t want another psycho Mother figure” She grasped the back of the chair with one hand, pushing herself painfully to her feet, legs shaking as they were forced to take her weight. Violet straightened slowly, breathing deep through the pain as she released her grip on the chair and stood tall. Tilting her chin defiantly upwards and pushing out her chest as much as the broken ribs would allow she faced her old friend. “Do it”

“Not going down sitting on your arse Violet Rayne? I’m impressed” Faith’s eyes flickered for a moment. “Maybe there was potential there after all” She was eyed thoughtfully for a minute then the older Slayer shrugged. “Oh well, no going back eh baby girl?”

Violet watched the other woman’s face as she felt the tip of the sword pierce her skin, the now familiar icy burn of a blade filling her chest. She willed herself to stay on her feet. “See you on the flip side” She whispered.

Faith laughed, head back, eyes glistening with pleasure, a picture of a warrior Goddess as the dark waves floated eerily around her head, clothes covered with the smears of Violet’s blood, a swipe of red across an alabaster cheek. The pain went deeper and deeper until, weirdly Violet vaguely thought, everything went blissfully numb, and then everything went black.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I know these first few chapters are a little rambling! I wanted to give Violet a bit of a back story before I brought in the SGC properly, and smut!  
> Thank you for making it this far xx


	5. The Girl With The Lavender Eyes

Violet lay still and silent in the unfamiliar, but very comfortable, bed. The blades of the fan hung from the ceiling spun noiselessly above and she followed their almost hypnotising movement whilst silently running through her internal checklist. She was definitely aware of her own physical presence, there was a dull ache in her chest and she was thirsty but everything that had hurt before, which had been pretty much everything, was now free from even the slightest hint of pain. 

She wriggled her fingers and toes, a hopeful brow rising as it appeared they were all there and with full movement to boot. Violet strained her ears but wherever she was now was as quiet as her previous prison had been. Licking her lips the young Slayer gingerly raised her arms enough to lift the covers from her body and peered down into the crisp white sheets. Someone had dressed her in pale blue cotton pyjamas, something Violet would not usually be seen dead in…she rolled her eyes at her own ironic thinking. Grasping the hem of the shirt with one hand and keeping the sheets propped up with the other she pulled the material up, dreading the sight of horrendous scarring that surely must be upon her skin. Even Slayer healing would have struggled in the face of so much damage.

Violet hardly stifled the surprised cry as her eyes took in the smooth pale skin stretched tautly across an almost concave abdomen and protruding hip bones. She bit her lip and continued to stare unbelievingly down at herself, her body was quite obviously lacking nutrition which was understandable but from what she could tell once she started eating and working out again her physical appearance would never betray the secret of her tortuous few days with the Dark Slayer.

She suddenly became aware of the sound of soft footfalls somewhere in the building and hurriedly yanked the top back down and let the sheets once again lay over her. Of course she could actually be dead, or in some weird alternate dimension, or this could even be another cruel trick being played out by her former friend. She closed her eyes and lay still, trying to mimic her sleep breathing pattern. There were two subtle clicks as the door to her room was opened then quietly closed, after a moments pause the footsteps began again before coming to a stop by her bedside. Violet willed her heart to slow down, and shut the hell up.

There was a quiet cough. “I know you’re awake Miss Rayne, come out from there” Her eyes snapped open and she gaped up at him. One hazel eye twinkled down at her. “I’ll be glad to make the call that you’re back in the land of the conscious, I keep expecting a hoard of angry Slayers to turn up on my doorstep, plus one very pissed witch”

Violet made a small, slightly embarrassing, sound then quickly cleared her throat. “Xander?” She frowned at the sound of her own voice, a hand unthinkingly reaching up to wrap around her throat. It was sore but not excruciatingly so and yet she sounded strained, deeper than before.

His smile flickered for a minute. “I’m afraid thats one of the things you going to need to get used to hon, even your almighty Goddess couldn’t return everything to the way it was”

She let out a small sob as the realisation hit. “They came…for me?”

Xander inhaled sharply, the suspicion of moistness in his own eyes as he went to his knees by her bed and clasped her hand, pulling it away from her neck and holding on tight. “Of course they did Vi…you think..oh Goddess, they were so desperately searching for you. We all were”

Violet nodded pathetically, a tear escaping. “I…she said…I didn't think anyone would come”

His good eye flashed and for a moment he looked ever so angry, not something that was common on the face of the man who was the heart of the House of Sineya. “We will talk properly later honey but…Faith wasn’t herself, she’d been taken over. It was lies, whatever that thing said, and it wasn’t her saying it ok?” She managed another pathetic nod, swallowing down the even more pathetic crying that was threatening. “Faith isn’t here, she’s recuperating too. And she specifically requested that you two don’t meet again until you’re ready. You’re safe here ok? And we’re all batting for you Miss Rayne” 

She took a few deep breaths and he waited patiently for her to compose herself. Eventually she wriggled her hand free to swipe away the wetness on her face and coughed, a little wetly. “Ok, ok. Sorry. I’m back”

“No need to apologise. And you’ll need to do that a lot in the next few weeks if you hope to move past this” Xander stood. “No hiding, no denial. You’re here with me to treat all of the fallout from this, there’ll be no going back to the field, or to your House, until I think you’re ready”

“Taskmaster” Violet attempted a shaky eye roll.

“I know” He grinned. “I’ll arrange you some food then we’ll chat ok?”

“Sure” A strange feeling of dread rolled over her. Violet was not good at the touchy feely shit at the best of times. And right now, feeling this raw, she just wanted to run away, maybe kill something.

“Don’t even think about it baby girl…” He stopped short, eyes flickering over her face. “Vi, you feeling ok? Any pain?”

Violet shook her head, at the same time trying to shake off the memory.

“Vi” Xander had his stern face on.

She twisted the sheets round her fingers then sighed quietly. As horrendous as it was to admit she just didn’t have the fight in her right now to argue with her dear friend. “Can we not…the ‘baby girl’ thing”

Xander raised a brow. “Its a term of endearment…I’ve used it a thousand times when addressing you Vi, as do most of your friends, and several long-suffering Doms you choose to keep hanging about”

Violet flipped him off. “A Slayer can’t maintain a Full Collar, you know that Xan”

“I think its a House-wide conspiracy” He grinned before looking serious again. “So?”

She sighed again. “Its what…she…it…called me”

Xander scrubbed a hand over his face. “Shit…I am so sorry ba…honey”

“S’ok” She offered him a smile because she felt bad about the emotions passing over his face. “Honey will work”

—————————— 

Violet chewed her last mouthful of food and swallowed contentedly. This was her first trip to the Africa House and she liked it very much, despite the circumstances, her room was cool and quiet and the whole atmosphere seemed to reflect it’s Master’s aura. The House was essentially one big hug plonked in the middle of a desert. She looked around as he finished his supper. “It’s very quiet for a house full of girls…Paris is never still”

He looked up and gave a lopsided grin. “They’re out on an exercise, last resort when I found Chao-Ahn scaling the wall outside your window”

She returned his smile. “It will be good to see her again. How’s the English going?”

Xander sighed and placed his plate on the floor by his chair. “Just when I think we’ve cracked it we run into some terrifyingly awkward misunderstanding”

Violet snorted quietly. “Awesome” She watched as he removed the tray from her legs and set it beside the discarded plate. “Still, it will be nice to catch up” She looked down at her hands. “There seem to be so few of us originals left, and it has not really been so long since SunnyDale”

A warm hand covered hers and squeezed briefly. “I heard about Caridad, Reed…I am so sorry Vi. It hurt so much that I couldn’t be there for you”

“S’ok” She whispered.

“Good friends”

Violet nodded. “My fault” She sniffed angrily, these emotions were getting out of hand. There’d been no tears for so long, just anger, and all-consuming guilt. 

“No, never” She raised her head in surprise at the scolding tone. Xander removed his hand from hers and pointed at her. “And don’t you let those assholes at the Concilium House convince you otherwise. You all lead dangerous lives Violet, even with the luxury of teams and greater numbers. Bad things happen”

“Maybe” She licked her lips, watched her entwining fingers rub anxiously against each other. 

“Definitely” 

“I made Reed a part of it” Violet murmured.

He stood and made his way to the small stand that held a coffee pot and kettle. “We could all write a too long list of what-ifs Vi, if we took on that responsibility as well we would drive ourselves insane”

“I guess” She continued to twist her hands, it was a fallback tell, one that would take time to learn not to show again. There was no reply except for the sound of the kettle completing its task and then the wonderful smell of expensive coffee filling the room. Violet suddenly raised her head and frowned at his back as he added milk to one of the mugs. “What things?”

“Pardon?” Xander didn’t turn around, his voice slightly muted as he bent to the task of adding sugar to his drink, too much in Violet’s silent opinion.

“You said my voice, which I have decided is going to be awesome for phone sex by the way, wouldn’t be the only thing I would have to get used to” She watched curiously as his shoulders tensed slightly before he turned, easy smile on his lips. Violet raised a brow.

“Ah, right, yes. Me and my big mouth” Xander made his way back to the bed and placed their drinks on her bedside. Instead of sitting he padded back across the room. “I’m sorry Vi but…you were dead when they found you”

“Oh” She frowned at her covered body. “But..I thought Will just did some super healing shit or something”

He unhooked a face mirror from the wall and turned the reflective side to his body as he faced her, her frown deepened to match the swirling in her stomach. Perhaps the second helping of pie hadn’t been a good idea. “No, I’m sorry honey but it was too late. You were probably dead before you hit the floor” He began to make his way slowly back to his young charge. “I’ve read Faith’s reports, she remembers everything, is absolutely devastated. The damage, the wounds inflicted over nearly two weeks…”

“Two weeks?” Echoed Violet, mouth dropping open.

Xander nodded sadly. “You’re tough honey, I’ll give you that. Even through the written word you can tell Faith is surprised you lasted so long. So am I, and I’m pretty sure she’s not disclosed everything too. And you stood, at the end…”

“Its called adrenaline Xan…I should have fought…”

He tilted his head to the side as he sat down again, mirror still pressed safely against his chest. “No way, maybe the adrenaline, and your famous stubbornness, kicked in for long enough to get you to your feet but to fight…a physical impossibility”

Violet scrubbed the heel of her palms across her eyes, rubbing away the memory and making her vision go nicely blurry for a minute. “So, I was dead…how come I’m here and have just managed to consume a disgusting amount of food?”

“It was disgusting to witness” He flicked a quick smile at her stuck out tongue. “I’m guessing you’ve heard the rumours about Buffy once being brought back from the dead?”

The young Slayer nodded, a houseful of girls could guarantee some good gossip. A terrifying thought hit her. “Oh Goddess, you didn’t bury me did you?! Oh, thats just..wrong!”

“Ok! Lets do the calm thing ok?” Xander held up a hand. “We didn't bury you, promise”

“Ok, ok, good” Violet wrinkled her nose. “Cause grave hair? Worse than bedhead. I’ve seen vamps rise you know?”

“Why is it always about the hair?” The kindly Dom rolled his eyes.

“Because, its a symbol of our womanly…thingie” Violet waved a vague hand. He eyed her worriedly. “Oh shit! Not my hair!” Her hands shot up to her head and she patted desperately over what seemed like the appropriate amount of hair, maybe even suspiciously a bit more hair. “Oh my Goddess I’m Chewbacca!” Her hand shot out. “Give me that mirror Harris”

“Manners Violet” He chastised. “And you’re not Chewbacca. I’m happy to confirm that you are still very hot”

Her eyes narrowed. “And adorable?”

Xander bit his lip. “And adorable…and I pity any Dom who you deem fit to take you on” Violet flipped him off, he raised a brow. “Manners”

She exhaled quietly. “Sorry Xander”

“Better” He gripped the top of the mirror and Violet held her breath. “Willow promised Buffy she would never try the resurrection ritual again, the consequences were pretty grim for both parties. But since the creation of more Slayers the Council have been encouraging Willow to refine it, use her new found powers from the Scythe to make it possible to bring people back without any nasty ripples” She nodded her understanding as he paused. “You are the first Slayer, first human, that she has performed this re-jigged spell on”

“Great, I’m a fucking experiment” Violet sighed resignedly. “So, what the hell am I now?”

“You Vi” He shot her a look. “It was a success, both you and Willow were checked out afterwards…no side effects, no degeneration, no nasties lurking in your brain”

She scraped a hand through her hair. “Can we get to the mirror part now, please?”

Xander met her eyes before silently turning the glass in her direction. Violet watched the emotions pass across her own face before closing her eyes against the image in front of her. “It was your name honey…it was said when it was meant to be, and also when it wasn’t”

She shook her head, keeping her eyes closed. “Well, at least my skin is normal. I could have been a giant blueberry” 

There was a quiet cough. “Actually, we have um, noticed that in direct sunlight you uh…sparkle a little”

Violet clenched her fists, all that pent up rage was simmering nicely below the surface now. “I sparkle! Fucking sparkle! I’m a Slayer for fucks sake….we do not sparkle! We slaughter shit!”

“Violet!..”

“Sparkle!” Her voice was definitely getting a little high pitched now, it was almost back to her usual tone…before all the sparkling shit.

“Violet! That is enough!” His voice was now raising to match hers. She fumed silently behind her still closed lids. “Look at yourself” He demanded. She stubbornly remained in the dark. “Look honey, look at you” His tone had softened. The Dom could never maintain his anger for very long, it was what had made him so perfect as a Slayer mentor. “You could still be dead, you could be criss-crossed with scars….one of your eyeballs had been detached, you could have never had the luxury of seeing again…you’re alive Violet. Alive. And different yes but still here, and with quite the most stunning hair I have ever seen”

She processed his words before cracking open one eye, perhaps the one that had been destroyed and tried to be thankful she could see out of it, and it wasn’t hanging down her cheek. Her lopsided reflection stared back at her. Opening the other eye Violet examined her face. It was still her, the same bone structure, the same full lips that Doms waxed lyrical about but the stunning pale blonde was gone, instead deep violet waves cascaded over her shoulders, ruffled from the pillow. She cautiously ran a strand through her fingers, it felt thicker and longer too.

“When Buffy came back her hair was longer, fuller. Something to do with being reborn, virgin hair without all the damage you girls inflict on it in the quest for the latest style” He smiled wryly at her over the mirror. She nodded silently, fingers brushing over the glass, tracing the unblinking eyes that stared back at her. “The girl with the lavender eyes” He murmured. “Quite the feature”

She sighed, gone was the piercing blue, now her iris’s were the colour of the palest lavender ringed with violet and framed by lashes that matched her hair. Violet tilted her head. Certainly standout but not, perhaps, great for the blending in, sneaky thing that was an integral part of the job. “There goes my covert ops duty”

“Maybe”

Violet rolled her eyes at him before widening them at a sudden thought. “Oh Goddess, please no” 

“Vi?”

She threw back the sheet and lifted the elasticated waistband of her pyjama trousers. “Well, shit”

—————————

John rolled his eyes at the off-world request form before dropping it into the shredder, his 2IC snorting quietly at the sound of another unqualified personnel’s bid to join a team being torn into perfect little strips. The young Colonel had no problem with the Sciences travelling through the gate, what he did have a problem with was the small minority who believed the military were there solely to cover their arses therefore considering the firearms and physical training pointless. No team should be put at risk because of a weak link in the chain.

In the silence signalling that the shredder had done its work and was now sitting waiting patiently for the next unfortunate’s discarded request he heard his charge shift subtly on her cushions behind his desk. Swivelling his chair John looked down at her, dark hair fell like a sleek curtain over her face as she studied her tablet but he’d had Guardianship of her for long enough to know that she would be chewing on her lip, brow furrowed as she read and reread something that was bothering her. He laced his fingers and placed his elbows on the metal arms of the chair. “Miko?”

Her head raised, deep brown with flecks of gold met his eyes. His assumption had been correct, something had caught her attention and she was fretting. “Yes John?”

“What is bothering you sweetheart?”

She blinked up at him as in the of the corner of his eye Major Winchester put down the file he was holding, head turning to watch over them. John frowned, it was rare that he had to repeat himself. “Miko, please answer my question”

Their young Slayer licked her lips before casting her eyes downwards, deft fingers selecting something on her screen. “Something has happened…at home”

He briefly met his second’s gaze, the other man shaking his head subtly to signal he had received no word that there were problems amongst the Concilium and their charges. Neither had John. He tried to school his features into a relaxed expression. “Would you like to share this with us Miko?” Ebony hair swayed as she nodded. He leant back in his chair. “Then in your own time sweetheart”

John watched her take a breath, he and her fellow Guardian Doms had schooled themselves to allow the powerful young woman time to gather her thoughts, focus her rushing mind before imparting news. It had been tough for the hardened men, to relearn patience and understanding, but she had repaid them tenfold for their efforts. Miko raised her gaze again. “The girl who I replaced…” John nodded silently, ignoring his 2IC’s raised brow. “She went missing, six weeks ago”

He leant forward slightly. “You knew her?” Their sub had never mentioned Miss Rayne’s name during her time with them, despite knowing that she was a last minute replacement. His House Doms were firm believers in honesty, both ways.

“Know her” The young woman corrected, smiling slightly. “She was found alive two weeks later” John nodded and waved a hand for her to continue. Miko nodded. “I met her once, actually it was more of a passing in a corridor, she probably doesn’t remember me…” She tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. “I dreamt about her afterwards for a little while” Another lick of the lips as she stared off into space. “Think it was her eyes…I just remember hoping so much that my calling would never give me eyes like that”

The Colonel felt the hairs raise along his arms, heard the Major swallow in the silence. Miko’s dreams were not to be dismissed lightly, a mistake they had made when she had first tried to explain her prophetic gift to them. The nightmares in the few days leading up to, and after, Carson’s death had been terrifying for the young woman and a harsh lesson for her Guardians. The quiet stretched on for a few seconds more, he almost jumped as she started speaking again. “Officially it’s being recorded as a kidnapping….” Her fingers traced the words as her lips moved. “involving light torture during imprisonment, non-combative, non-fatal. Successfully retrieved by search and rescue team, team leader Miss Buffy Summers” 

“Light torture?” Echoed Dean.

Miko shrugged. “It means no internal damage, loss of limb or life” 

“So ‘light’ does not necessarily mean things that can be withstood?” 

She smiled sadly up at him. “The Concilium set the standards when it comes to measuring what a Slayer can withstand”

“The Concilium are assholes” Dean stood, his chair legs scraping across the shared office floor, before moving over to flick the kettle on. Their subs penchant for tea as a comforter meant they had nearly tripled their quarterly supply request since she had joined them. “If you don’t know Miss Rayne why the concern darlin’? Or should I say more concern than usual when you hear about a missing or injured girl”

Miko gestured to her still glowing screen. “Aimee reckons they’re trying to downplay the incident”

“And I expect gossip in a house full of young women with super-hearing is pretty reliable?” John smiled fondly at her, certain rules had had to be put in place when they’d discovered just how sharpened their young charge’s senses were. 

She grinned back. “Yes John” There was a quiet sigh as her head bent towards her tablet once more. “The rumour mill is working overtime with this one. Whispers that the Paris House leader was involved, mix-ups that delayed her rescue, that she was set up by the Chairs….” Miko raised her head to look at him. “…that she was hurt a lot more than they’re letting on, the wildest being that she died and was brought back…”

“You have the ability to do that?” The Major stood over her, a steaming mug of tea in his grasp. 

Their sub shook her head. “No, but there were stories that Will could, that she brought Buffy back once. Apparently there were pretty bad consequences”

Dean crouched down, pushing her hair back behind her ear as she took her first sip, humming quietly with pleasure. “I imagine screwing around with that kind of shit has fallout, if its possible”

Miko swallowed before nodding. “I think it is, some of the older girls said they had seen Buffy’s grave before SunnyDale was destroyed”

“More gossip Miko” The Major pressed a kiss to her forehead before standing and moving to retake his seat. “You shouldn’t let it worry you”

There was another sigh. “I know…I just…” She chewed on her lip silently.

John nudged her with his boot. “No hiding sweetheart, I’m not spending another sleepless night pacing the apartment with you” Golden chocolate sparkled up at him through dark lashes. He raised a brow. “I mean it” No-one slept when Miko couldn’t get her mind to settle.

She placed her tablet on the floor, crossing her legs on the pile of cushions and leaning back against the wall, tea cupped in both hands. “I don’t know why its bothering me”

He briefly met Dean’s eyes, the other man nodded. John ran a hand through his hair. “Let’s start from the beginning sweetheart, when you first read the message…what was your first thought?”

“That Violet Rayne just wouldn’t get kidnapped”

“Why? Surely its a risk every time you go out on patrol?”

“When I left she was already becoming a legend in her own lifetime. The strongest of the originals, whispers that the only Slayers she couldn’t take down were Buffy and Faith, and she was coming up fast on Faith. Girls who were reassigned from Paris spoke about her in hushed tones; she was a loose cannon, newbies would refuse to run with her because of rumours of desertion and devastatingly wrong calls, she’d go missing from the House for weeks at a time…but they all begrudgingly admitted that she was good, very good. You’d not fuck with this girl” She stretched her legs out, elegantly pointing and flexing her toes. “And from what I can glean from the odd mention of her by my friends back home in the last year or so she’s only gotten better, a lot better”

John put great effort into keeping his expression and tone relaxed, ignoring the use of the curse word for now. “The other girls are scared of her?”

“I think so” Miko took another sip of warming tea. “But I get the impression that it isn’t the kind of fear that makes you run, it is the kind that draws you in” 

He nodded his understanding. “That is usually the more dangerous kind” The Colonel leant forward, elbows resting on his knees, hands clasped loosely together between them. “So, can we say that it is worrying you because this woman who has become a symbol of power, a living legend, within your community has been seemingly taken down by something unknown? Does it make you nervous to think that there is something out there that she cannot beat?”

More lip chewing then she nodded. “I think so. I think it would be the same if we received word that either Buffy or Faith had been hurt or killed”

“And the supposed cover-up of her ordeal?”

She sighed. “Adds to the anxiety. It makes me feel as though something big is coming, and nobody can stop it”

John studied his fretting sub for a few moments, he hated that she always felt torn between worlds, that the Slayer called out for home and her sisters yet Miko so desperately cared for her Atlantis family. As he’d learnt more from Miko about the way these young women were forced to live he had realised that the existence of Slayers confirmed just how shitty the world was, and how selfish and unthinking man could be. He leant further forward and cupped her chin, tipping her head so he could smile gently into her gaze. “What do you need my sub?”

“For the monsters to drop dead”

His lips twitched. “And until then?”

“More tea, and a bath, and clean sheets, and company to rest with…please”

“Well, being as you asked so nicely…” The Major huffed a laugh and stood back up. “Lets go run your bath darlin’, John has one last meeting…”

“Shit, I’d forgotten about that” John eyed the discarded file with disgust. An hour of McKay and Zelenka bitching at each other, something he was pretty sure should actually be happening to their esteemed Expedition Leader. 

“Will Cameron be home tonight?” Miko raised up gracefully and took Dean’s proffered hand. 

John sighed, remembering he’d agreed to take on this meeting because Mitchell was slowly drowning in paperwork and endless briefings and he’d felt compelled to throw him a life ring. “Yes he will. I think we all need a night off”

Their sub smiled. “Can I watch when you tell him?”

He narrowed his gaze and pointed at her. “No, and behave. Straight home, and I expect to find you and my sheets clean when I get back”

Miko stared up at the smirking Major through dark lashes. “He’s so bossy, isn’t it lovely?”

John fought the urge to feel thankful that she had resumed some of her light teasing in the wake of her worrying. “I pity the Dom that you eventually deem fit to take you on”

“Don’t you mean that YOU deem fit to take me on?”

Dean snorted and pulled gently. “Come on Slayer, before his sympathy runs out in the face of your brattish charm”

“A good idea Major” The Colonel waved them out, waiting until the door slid shut behind them before smiling to himself. After a few teething problems they had built a strong House, Miko never went without the care and attention she needed and the three Guardians had almost gratefully fallen into their roles after months of having to keep themselves impartial and separate to the D/s community in the city. As they had relaxed and their Slayer’s influence had grown on Atlantis he had found his door opening to submissive personnel more and more often, with Miko’s obvious contentment and light goading going someway to showing the others that the military Doms were perhaps not the typical. It was finally starting to feel more like a home and less like a military outpost.

His door chimed, taking a deep breath he straightened in his chair before sending out the silent order for it to open. His Chief of Science paused for a second, eyes flickering over the misshapen cushions before carefully lowering himself into the chair placed at the other side of the desk. Zelenka made a more clumsy effort of settling in beside him until eventually silence fell in his office once more. John forced an easy smile. “So Rodney, what appears to be the problem?” He winced internally at the other man’s flinch at the use of his first name. It was going to be a long hour.

——————————

Three months later

Buffy sat at her desk, the smooth dark mahogany reflecting the soft light cast from the chandelier strung high above. It’s surface was clear bar the smart new computer that Willow had chosen for her, the comforting litter of discarded pens and endless notes jotted down on strewn paper gone, made obsolete by the uninviting black screen that seemed to mock her silently on a daily basis. She scowled at it, the look promising an unfortunate accident very soon, but not too soon incase her dear friend became suspicious. It stared back at her. Offering the one-fingered salute in reply Buffy turned away from it, eyes running over the rest of the room that she had once been embarrassed to admit that she needed but had now become a sanctuary.

Nobody disturbed the Queen Slayer when she was in her office, unless invited to do so, and that suited the young woman just fine. Since the fall of SunnyDale and the search for new Slayers had begun Buffy’s time had become a rare and sacred thing. The rise of the Slayers and the reformed Councilium House where their charges were now permitted to sit at the table had been a dream she had embraced fully but sometimes she feared that she was becoming what she had always loathed about Travers and his minions. Desk-bound, away from the fight, issuing orders that sent young girls to their possible deaths everyday…Buffy’s vision of Slayers free and standing side by side, her included, seemed so completely out of reach that she often despaired. Now there were teams, and base camps, politics, disputes and don’t even get her started on the admin. Also their very tight budget was spiralling out of control, gaining momentum year by year.

She banged her head gently on the hard surface, a dozen pair of eyes looking down at her full of laughter from the photos hung upon the walls. Without looking up she offered them the same gesture as the box of evil sat smugly on her desk, all sleek and pretty. There was something incredibly annoying about a piece of technology that looked better than her in the mornings. A soft knock landed on her door and Buffy rolled her head to the side, squinting up at the clock. Nobody should be harassing her to eat for another hour yet. She stared blankly at the numbered face, hoping to hell that they’d get the message. The second hand had moved a whole half cycle before the knocker repeated themselves, except this time it was accompanied by a cautious calling of her name.

Buffy straightened, a little too quickly as her chair wheeled itself off to the left and she spent a few embarrassing seconds performing an excellent impression of a two-armed windmill that she was very glad nobody would ever see before finally arriving centre desk once more. Blowing a couple of strands of escaped hair from her face she called for them to come in. As the door clicked shut behind her six o’clock appointment she plastered on an easy smile. “Hey sweetie, thanks for coming”

“Her Majesty calls, I come” Her visitor moved silently across the thick carpet, elegant movements that gave the impression she was almost floating a centimetre above the surface beneath her feet. She had always moved like a cat.

“Will you please not call me that?” Buffy tried to look stern as the other woman sank gracefully into the chair opposite her, legs crossed demurely at the knee.

“I like it” Shoulders shrugged, causing a violet braid to fall forward. “So do you” Lavender eyes twinkled at her in the otherwise expressionless face.

“Do not”

“Do too”

“Shut up”

“As you wish” The head dipped briefly.

Buffy rolled her eyes. “Well, now that witty banter has died a death…how are you sweetie?”

A groomed brow raised. “I’m very well, although the repeated use of sweetie has me a little suspicious”

She frowned. “I use the term frequently”

“Only when you feel uncomfortable”

Buffy sat back in her chair, eyeing the person currently cooly examining her. “Really?”

“Lately, yes”

“Oh” She sighed quietly. “I’m a little uncomfortable”

“Me too”

The Queen Slayer huffed a laugh. “Sometimes, I really hate this desk” Pushing herself up Buffy moved around the giant slab of wood, hoping she performed the action with as half as much grace as the other young woman had just effortlessly portrayed. Coming to a stop at the second chair next to the one already occupied she crossed her legs beneath her, settling in as well as she could. A couple of the old injuries were really playing her up at the moment. “I…I want to know how you are Vi, please?”

There was a tight smile. “I’m good B. Promise”

Buffy sighed again and leant forward, elbows resting on her knees, fingers lacing together. “I know you’ve healed sweetie, we have super Slayer healing powers…” She licked her lips. “But, I mean…our souls Vi, our hearts and minds. I need to know that you’re…ok”

Her friend closed her eyes for a moment then mirrored her pose, leaning forward and placing her hands on Buffy’s. “I am ok” There was a brief squeeze then the contact was gone.

The oldest living Slayer nodded, pushed back the feeling that everything was really not ok. Stupid Slayer spidey-senses. “”It’s been a tough couple of years”

“Agreed”

“Can you quit with the monosyllabic?”

“When you give me something more to work with Highness”

“Fuck you” She was at least rewarded with a grin for her tiredness-induced outburst. Buffy glared at her. “Look Vi, it’s been shitty, we’re all in agreement. But I’m worried that this latest crappiness has taken more of a toll than you’re admitting to. Faith…”

“Was not to blame” Anther elegant brow raise. “Nor was anyone else, it was an unfortunate event. Something that is not uncommon in our line of work B, you out of everybody should know that. And I don’t see anyone questioning your sanity”

“Actually thats a regular occurrence, its just no one is brave enough to say it out loud anymore…apart from maybe Will”

“Will is an unstoppable Goddess”

“Agreed” Buffy smiled sadly at her friend. “The House isn’t what it was”

“Also agreed, but nothing can stay the same forever” 

She nodded. “Theres been a series of unfortunate events”

“You’re hilarious”

“I love you get my pop references”

Violet rolled her eyes. “I don’t”

Buffy grinned and uncurled, wincing mid-stretch before standing. 

“They hurting?”

“Like a bitch” The Queen Slayer shuffled back around her desk. Super healing powers sometimes meant you healed too fast, like when you fell down a four foot by four foot hole and your broken bones fused at an awkward angle. 

“You should get Will to help you, she keeps offering”

Buffy lowered herself back into the slightly larger, and much comfier, chair. “Maybe. But my body is playing ball, its just slow progress”

“You are getting on a bit”

“Well, aren’t you on form tonight?”

“I am on form every night”

She snorted. “I pity the Dom who falls for your charms”

“Please, I’m adorable” Dark violet lashes battered at her, crystal lilac in stunning contrast sparking bright beneath them.

“Yeah, yeah, you’re hot and you know it” 

“We all know it”

Buffy looked up from the drawer she was currently elbow deep in and grinned. “It’s nice to hear some of your old stunning wit returning” Her fingertips brushed the corner of a sheet of high quality thick paper and she grasped at it before it could disappear back into the depths of her desk again. Straightening Buffy placed it on the table in front of her, hands unnecessarily smoothing out non-existent creases. “I have finally come to an agreement with the Concilium that all sides are happy with”

“Fucking miracle”

“Shut up” She stuck her tongue out. “And be grateful I have some higher-ups on side” 

Violet smiled smugly at her. “Your General is cute”

“Inappropriate”

“My middle name”

“Quiet time Vi” Buffy hoped she wasn’t flushing on the outside. He was cute, and he was all hers or, rather, she was all his. She cleared her throat to cover up the small squeak at the thought. “Anyway, it means that I’ve been instructed by the Councilium to brief you on your new assignment. It will be on a trial basis for six months automatically switching to a permanent position so long as there aren’t any problems, you will be allowed free contact with both the Sineya and Councilium Houses. I’ve bigged up my trust in you sweetie, which means I want full and honest reports back, about not only the work you are engaging in there but how Slayers are treated and viewed by the other personnel” She sighed quietly. “To be honest if Will hadn’t supported this partnership so strongly I would have been tempted to pass up on it, or at least encourage the Councilium to, but…well, she’s smart and so far has been proved right that this was a major opportunity for us to expand our influence, and our knowledge”

“And our budget”

She felt a brow rise of its own accord. “I know money talk is a little dirty sweetie but being stuck behind this desk has at least taught me that running a huge operation like ours isn’t all about kicking arse and having awesome sleepovers. Our girls need food and shelter, they need medical care…and do you know how much outfit losses cost us each year?”

Violet nodded. “I go through a surprising amount of pants”

“We’d noticed” Buffy smiled at her. “As much as I hate to admit it the SGC may well be our saving grace…but I won’t turn a blind eye to my family’s wellbeing just for some much needed dough. Our work with them is strictly monitored and if any Slayer is out of contact with the House for more than a month the whole thing gets pulled, and I reign down terror on their creepy mountain hideout”

“Did you put that in the contract?”

“Yes” 

“Awesome”

“I like to think so” Buffy tucked a stray strand of hair behind her ear. She’d sworn Jack’s lips had twitched when he’d reached that part. In fact she was pretty sure that was what had nailed her first date with him. “Xan promises me that physically you are back to your old self, Cho-Ahn now refuses to spar with you and you’ve successfully put the fear of Goddess into the babies, congratulations” 

“Thank you” The younger Slayer smiled smugly at her.

“Not sure you should be proud of that sweetie”

“And yet, I am”

Buffy leant over her desk. “You need to swear to me that you are ready Vi, in here…” She tapped the side of her head. “…and here” Her finger moved over her heart. “This is an opportunity for you to get some time away from the fallout, I know what its like to be watched, as if everyone is just waiting for you to break…or snap” Violet snorted quietly. “You can meet new people, explore new worlds, find exciting new things to kill. BUT…..” She waggled the same finger at her dear friend. “…if I send an unstable Slayer to a powerful military operation and things go to shit I lose the tiny bit of influence I’ve managed to scrape together for Sineya House. Do you understand?” 

She was eyed silently for a moment. “I do”

“Are you ready?”

“You trust me to tell you the truth?”

“I trust you with my life, with our girl’s lives. You’re one of my original babies Vi, and you’re very special” Buffy sat back. “I trust you to know that this is important and that it is crucial you are honest with me and yourself”

Violet stared at her hands. Buffy tried to sit still. The universe held its breath.


	6. Epilogue - Evolution of a Reluctant Champion: The First Turn

Two years later, New York

As the transporters light faded Violet stood staring blankly at the wall of glass in front of her. The usual stunning view was hidden by an eerie fog, the kind which often settled over the city’s skyline. She blinked tiredly knowing she should move, change her clothes, shower, maybe eat something but her feet refused to move. Her duffel hit the cool marble with a soft thump as it fell from her fingers, she had no idea what was inside the bag. 

When her Guardian Dom had found the young woman in her quarters with the same blank look on her face as she stood unmoving in front of the opened slim metal cupboard he had simply scooped up its contents with one movement of his arm and unceremoniously shoved it in before closing the zipper, snatching it up and leading her silently from the room. 

At least Violet’s time on the Daedalus had been blissfully short, the security check to ensure that no one would be present to witness her sudden appearance in her apartment surrounded by a bright white light had taken a matter of minutes and those present had been too busy, or uncomfortable, to engage her in any kind of conversation. And now she was wondrously alone, finally there was nobody talking to her, at her or over her and Violet closed her eyes, tipped her head back to embrace the silence. 

Allowing herself to hide for a little longer in the darkness behind her lids she prodded the demon, locked away deep down inside. It tumbled and stirred before turning away from her, metaphorically stealing the duvet and cocooning itself inside. Opening her eyes she squinted at the too quick onslaught of light, her frown being lost in the screwed up expression, even the thing that powered all Slayers was calling a time-out. She sighed quietly. “Ok, I get the message” Unzipping the leather jacket she shrugged out of it, slowly and with a slight grimace as her recently re-located shoulder protested, before dropping it next to her duffel. 

Moving over to the sofas, a lot slower and less gracefully than she would have liked, Violet lowered herself carefully onto the comfier one and brought first one foot then the other up onto her opposite knee to unzip the boots and wiggle her aching feet free of them. Once both bare feet were buried deep in the thick sheepskin she took a breath, elbows propped on her knees, thumbs pressed hard either side at the top of the bridge of her nose. 

It had taken everything her and her demon had left to hold it together during the medical and debriefing, and the fight to be able to come here alone. Now they were both paying. Violet was drained and so was her backup. She shivered slightly, rubbed the back of her hand across her dry lips as her mouth started to fill with saliva. “Don’t you dare Rayne” She murmured. Leaning back against the cushions, eyes closed, the Slayer popped open the button of her trousers, humming quietly as the zipper was smoothly pulled apart and the pressure was released on her torn apart insides.

She wasn’t sure how much time had passed when she came to but the room was dimmer, a faint pink glow showing on the smooth white marble. Violet cursed, passing out had not been the plan, the small bit of comfort by the loosening of her clothing and the effort it had involved must have knocked her out. She gingerly raised her arse from the sofa a couple of inches and gently pushed down the tough material of her trousers, lowering herself thankfully to use her legs to remove them the rest of the way. She sat clumsily splayed out, clad in just a vest top and underwear, trying to rally her thoughts.

The idea of undertaking her own recovery and having a few days rest enjoying her own company and and the benefits of a penthouse with a concierge service now seemed foolish. She was going to need assistance, at least for the first forty-eight hours or so, and however much Violet Rayne preferred to go it alone she also knew when to raise the little white flag. The young Slayer forced her tired brain to keep working for a little longer, mentally running through her, now very small, contacts list. She scrolled past his name then paused, cautiously going back to it, turning the idea over in her mind. “Fuck it” She told the empty apartment.

 

Flashback.

“You cant do this, let me at least speak to Buffy!”

She stepped forward, past the girl being wheeled into the ambulance. “Who do you think gave the order?” Their eyes fell on her as she moved into the limited light. “You work for Wolfram and Hart now. Our House can no longer trust you”

The taller of the two moved went to step forward, halted by William’s hand upon his arm. “Wouldn’t recommend it Peaches. Vi here has a nasty streak” The blue eyes twinkled at her and he grinned, but she could smell his fear.

“And you have a lucky streak William” Violet smiled back. “When were you going to inform your old friends of your resurrection?”

“Well, I didn’t really want to spoil the effect of my exit in blazing glory pet” He winked at her.

“Perhaps not, but it is very bad manners to have the people who stood by you in battle thinking you’re dead” She raised brow. “When you’re clearly not”

“Well, technically I am” He grinned back. “And I’m a vampire, manners kinda spoil the whole undead terror vibe”

“You haven’t been terrifying, undead or not, for a long time William”

“Whilst this is all very entertaining... “ Angel glared at them both. “... I would like to point out that we actually rescued Dana”

“With my help” Violet offered up another brow raise. “You were nearly Slayer chow... and that could still be arranged”

“Like to see you try Baby Slayer” The elder vamp smirked at her.

“Um, Peaches...”

“Shut up Spike” A finger pointed towards the now closed ambulance doors. “Return her to us, we can help... “

“No Slayer shall be left at the mercy of Wolfram and Hart” Violet tipped her head to one side slightly. “And if you call me baby again I shall rip out your spinal cord and beat you to death with it”

William grinned at her. “Couldn’t you just do that anyway?”

“Shut up Spike!” Angel glowered at him before returning his gaze to Violet. “The only problem I have with fighting you is having to deal with a pissed Buffy Summers after she finds out how dead I made you”

“Great” William threw his hands up. “A pissing contest with a Slayer, real all-powerful vamp like Angel” He was ignored.

Violet rolled her eyes and waved a hand to signal the ambulance should start it’s journey then stepped closer to them, making sure her words could only be heard by the two vampires. “I like you guys, really, and yay for you with the whole redemption thing you’ve got going on but you’ve walked away from B and her House, whilst I understand the Concilium rather forced both your hands at some point each of you had the greater power over our Queen’s wellbeing. And now you’ve associated yourselves not with a law firm but an ancient cabal of very powerful demons. Can you blame her for not trusting you? If you were her would you leave one of your people inside the walls of a known enemy’s fortress? If you want some advice... “

“You think I need advice from a self-important little girl, acting all big just ‘cause now she can bench press a hundred... “

“A ton actually” Violet smiled serenely. “You don’t have to follow it, I’m only offering so I don’t have to listen to B bitch at me for not saying it. You’re in deep shit, and you’re not taking one of own down with you”

“A ton?” Echoed William, staring at her thoughtfully.

“I’ve lifted a ton” A sulking vamp was a new one on Vi.

He was eyed by his fellow vamp. “Bullshit”

There was a moment as it seemed all three of them tried to decide what to do next.

“Um” William raised a hand. “What kind of shit?”

Violet was just about to tell him it was the kind of shit that was deep and runny, and real stinky, the kind you really want a canoe and paddle handy when floating about in it when a two hundred and seventy year old fist connected with her jaw. She just about heard William’s shouted curse before the red mist descended. 

 

“What the bloody hell did ya hit me for Slayer, Peaches started it” William rubbed his swollen jaw gently.

Violet rolled her eyes, the effect slightly ruined by one being hidden behind the bag of frozen blood. “You pissed me off”

“I piss everyone off pet, and it seems everyone pisses you off these days too” Her old friend eyed her. “Not seen that kind of rage since the Queen Slayer herself... “

“I’m getting in touch with my inner demon” She grinned at them.

“Well, that doesn’t sound at all dangerous and apocalypsy” William grinned back. “But it does sound fun”

“I like to think so” Violet sat back, rolled her neck. 

“I think it sounds like an apocalypse waiting to happen” Angel flexed his bruised fingers. “Why are you here Violet?”

“To retrieve a Slayer, per my Queen’s orders” 

“Thought you were terrorising the Parisian demon community these days” William grabbed her discarded cold compress and set it angst his jaw. “And I currently feel a little sympathy for them, you pack a punch pet”

“Stop calling me pet” Violet rolled her eyes. “And I was in New York, personal business. I recently acquired a very nice penthouse there” The vampire snorted quietly. “B called once she got word a Slayer had made herself known in LA, and that you were both taking an interest. She trusts me, and my ability to take you both down if it all went out shit”

“Um” William licked his lips. “Both of us?”

The Slayer smirked at him. “Really think your miraculous return went unnoticed by the Concilium hm?” She raised a brow. “And you couldn’t even bring yourself to call her, coward”

“Shit” He hissed. 

“Lucky for you she’s been a little busy lately... “

“Yes, thank you Violet” Angel shot her an indecipherable look. “And what I meant was why are you here?” He pushed himself out of the chair, with a little difficulty much to Vi’s pleasure. “With us, rather than in the Concilium’s jet”

Violet watched him retrieve a bottle from an ornate cabinet along with three glasses. As the crystal hit the wood of the table and the amber liquid was poured clumsily into each one she sighed quietly. “With you both gone B had no choice but to support the Concilium’s glorious return to power, and they spin pretty stories about a new order, reformed Houses, but underneath, its still the same” She waved a vague hand towards the UV protected windows. “We’re still dying, its still dark and lonely, they’re still our voice”

“Vi, I’m sorry... “

“Fuck off William, the only thing you’ve ever been sorry about is that chip in your head”

“Mind your words Slayer”

“I don't answer to you Angelus” She sneered. “And I’m sure the Concilium would loosen the leash if I gave them the ashes of the last of the Master’s family”

“No more fighting!” William slid a glass towards her before grabbing one for himself. “I have no desire to be punched in the face again, or anywhere else for that matter” He took a swig. “Put away your inner demon and finish your story Vi, pretty sure you didn’t come all this way to tell us how shit it is back home”

Violet rolled her eyes at him, but took a gulp of whisky and sat back again. “Something is happening to the Slayers, something that I think has been happening since the Scythe was used to activate us”

William raised a brow. “There usually is something happening to Slayers love, kinda part and parcel of the whole ‘chosen’ crap”

She shot him a look, runnng her finger along the rim of her glass. “Fine, then too many things are happening to the Slayers, that better?”

Angel leant forward slightly, forearms resting on the smooth mahogany that made up the expansive table. “Like what?”

The young woman mirrored his pose, ignoring the curious look William was giving his fellow vamp. “They’re dying” She held out a finger as both their mouths opened at the same time. “Don’t you dare, I know about our destiny, duty, blah, blah, blah but... “ She hesitated, licked her lips. Violet had thought long and hard about whether to trust them or not, and she’d decided they probably hated the Concilium just enough to want to believe her. 

“Vi” Her name was whispered, his head tilted to one side as crystal blue calmly fixed on hers. He nodded silently.

She drained her drink. “They’re dying... when they shouldn’t” There was silence as they waited for her to continue, only the faintest of sounds vibrated through her sharp ears as William leant forward and topped up her glass. Violet watched the liquid settle peacefully in its glass before speaking again. “Girls who should win keep losing, whilst those who should lose keep winning, the strong are dying, or going missing, and who the hell is capable of kidnapping a Slayer? And most of our opponents like to leave our bodies somewhere in the open so they can have boasting rights” She looked at both of them. 

“Hey” William held up both hands. “That was pre-soul pet”

Violet just rolled her eyes again. “We’re not just dying, we’re disappearing too. No ransom notes, no whispers of some creep boasting he’s in possession of one of us... theres no trace of them, they go out and they never come back. I’ve been a member of a couple of the search parties, the trail is real strong and then just... stops” She sighed quietly. “And then theres this feeling, it never goes... “ Violet trailed off. Never before had she spoken of her fears outwardly. “Something is coming... or is already here... “ She downed whisky number two. “I’m afraid” Her statement hung there, between them, like it was surprised to find itself out in the open, and the vamps ears were too surprised to let it in.

“Violet?”

She swallowed around the lingering burn left from the whisky. “Yes” She murmured.

“Miss Rayne, look at me” The young Slayer huffed a breath before meeting his eyes, making sure all emotion was tucked away from his searching gaze. Angel smiled. “You hide well”

“Hide?” Vi allowed her eyes to widen a little.

“I have been a Dom for over two centuries, there are not many mortals that I cannot read” He sat back, drink clasped loosely between to fingers. “Impressive”

“I try”

He huffed a laugh. “I’m sure you do” The elder vampire swirled his glass. “I would say that if you are afraid then perhaps we all should be?” He shot a look at his GrandChilde, who nodded gently. “This ‘something’, do we know what it is?”

She shook her head. “All I know is that something is not right, and its inside our House... and I am afraid”

Angel nodded gently. “And why are we getting to hear your fears Slayer?”

Violet eyed him across the table. “I could almost believe that it was my imagination, the paranoia that comes with hunting monsters for a living... except that as soon as I started properly looking I couldn’t find anything” The elder vampire raised a brow but said nothing. “The faintest of leads would just disappear as soon as I even dared breath on it. And they didn’t disappear as in they would lead to something quite innocent they would just vanish into thin air... “

“Someone’s not bothering too much with the cover stories?” 

“Exactly” The Slayer nodded. “Either they don’t see me as much of a threat or they’re close enough to their end game to not be too worried about someone digging around... “

“And our involvement?”

Violet looked at him. “There is none, not yet. A lot of our old allies are being pushed out, friends are drifting apart, trust is hard to come by... for me at least. We may not know each other very well but I know you loved our Queen and you still care what happens to her, and her people. If something happens to me, or if the war comes....”

“Haven’t missed the grande finale yet Slayer” William raised his glass to her. “We’ll have your girl’s backs, and yours”

She swallowed then nodded. “Thank you” She whispered.

(End Flashback)

 

Present Day, New York. Dream sequence.

The silver sand pressed uncomfortably into her bare shoulders as she lay staring up at the twinkling sky, cold as ice, its sharp surface making indentations in her skin. Violet chuckled quietly as the sounds of her sisters dying surrounded her, as the stink of the final defeat curled up her nostrils bringing with it both despair and yet the uncomfortable gratitude that it was finally over. Soon there would be peace, there would be rest. Soon they would see just how the human race, who had so thoughtlessly puppeteer’d them, would survive without their soldiers.

No longer would the Slayers be the plaything of man.

She shivered as the faintly warming light of the far away planets was blocked, its shape looming down over her, two burning red pits raking over her broken body, foul breath overpowering the scent of battle. The roar of its laughter raised every hair upon her skin. “Champion” It sneered, the roll of its tongue making the word sound as dirty as Violet had always felt it to be. “A poor choice”

“Agreed” Violet croaked, a trickle of blood running from her mouth.

It crouched down on its great hairy legs, its ‘arms’ resting upon its knees in a strangely human pose. “I was going to make you watch Champion” A dirty claw opened a faint wound across her shoulder as it idly stroked over her skin. Violet didn’t even flinch, there was no feeling left now. “Watch the fall of your world” It looked thoughtful. “But I do not think that you would care”

“Finally, something we agree on” The Champion coughed up some blood as she snorted with laughter.

It laughed along with her. “I should have turned you Violet Rayne, Champion”

She swallowed down the sweet taste of blood, trying not to vomit at the feeling of it slowly working its way back inside her body. “I turned…without you…” More coughing, she felt the warm liquid splatter across her face.

It made a strange movement with its head that she decided was a gesture of agreement. “Man…it uses up, squanders, abuses…it shall have only itself to answer for its fall”

Violet smiled up at it, knew the blood was smeared across her teeth, over her chin, embraced the imagery. “Tell them…before they die”

It roared again, its great head thrown back as its body shook before it once more fixed her with those eyes. “It is a promise, Champion”

She continued to smile as it rose, its great height unfolding until it stood over her, until it was all she could see. It’s arm raised, the light from the stars finding a small patch of clean talon to glimmer from. Violet stared at it, watched it as it fell from the sky, hypnotised as it moved across her body, disappeared into her pale, soft flesh before remerging the other side, still magically gleaming with the spark of other worlds. As the blood poured from her dying self she raised her eyes once more and it stepped back, allowing her to look one last time upon the universe. “Fuck you” She murmured.

End dream sequence.

New York, 24 hours later.

Violet eased her eyes open, expecting blinding sun she blinked a few times at the darkness surrounding her until her pupils refocused and gave her a dim view of her bedroom, curtains closed tight with the only light coming from the small gap around the shut door. She licked her dry lips, ignoring the slight nausea and ache in her bones to concentrate on just how wonderful the deep mattress and soft pillows felt beneath her. The duvet was pulled up high under her chin and she could feel the weight of extra blankets pressing down on her legs. Smiling slightly she buried deeper, not caring who had stripped her and tucked her in, only being grateful that they had let her live and been thoughtful enough to make sure her battered body stayed warm whilst she slept.

A sick Slayer felt the cold, an undernourished Slayer would be permanently chilled to the bone, a Slayer near to death would suffer violent shivers and debilitating headaches whilst her body pulled every single drop of nutrient rich blood to her decaying insides in a last desperate bid to stay alive. Bringing up the memory of laying on the sofa, phone slipping from her hand, Violet worked slowly forwards, looking for any hint of how long ago that was and just what had happened to her since then. She heard the faint sounds of her five inch thick door giving way under pressure, noted the way the soft footfalls gained momentum and grew louder as her name was called, her finders panic reaching her ears as though it had been shouted through dense fog.

She felt herself be lifted, grimaced at the wetness between her legs, creeping up her back and down her legs, then…nothing. Violet frowned from the safety of her cocoon, pushed herself to dig deeper, even if she had been unaware perhaps her demon had been shaken awake through some of the apparent drama. After a few seconds of prodding it grumblingly showed her a flash of rose coloured bathwater, a syringe filled with deep red, her own feet twitching violently, shadowy figures darting to and from her bed, then….nothing, again. Her skin goose bumped despite the surrounding heat. “Shit” She whispered to herself. Reaching out with her senses the young Slayer couldn’t stop the cry that accompanied the stabbing pain behind her eyes, so not ready to engage Slayer mode yet then, fan-fucking-tastic.

Violet tensed, whoever was the other side of the door had obviously heard her shout and wasn’t bothering about being careful, she didn’t need Slayer hearing to pick up on the footsteps drawing closer. Closing her eyes and trying to even out her breathing she strained for the sound of the handle being pushed down, tried not screw her eyes shut tighter as light from the rest of the apartment flooded her darkened sanctuary. The door was pushed to, decreasing the uncomfortableness of too much bright but leaving enough for Violet to be able to see their face if she so wished to open her eyes and blow her cover. The bed dipped slightly and Violet balled up a fist under the covers, vaguely wondering just how much hitting power she currently had.

“I wouldn’t recommend it pet, you currently pack about as much punch as Harris” He pressed the back of his hand to her forehead. “You warm enough love?”

Her eyes flew open at the sound of his voice and she blinked up at him as he stared worriedly back down at her. Violet licked her lips again. “He’s been working out” She croaked, wincing at the catch in her throat.

The vampire snorted quietly. “Why is it that the wit is the first thing to recover?”

“Lucky I guess” Violet frowned as she gently rubbed her throat and looked around the room. “Drink, please?”

“And a please?” A brow was raised. “Sure you’re all still in there Slayer?”

“William…” She whispered, fighting the moistness forming in her eyes at the discomfort, and the sudden feeling of helplessness. “Please…”

He smiled sadly at her. “Ok pet, just rest alright? I’ll get you some water” The bed shifted again as he stood.

“Coffee?” She wheezed.

He turned to look at her. “If you keep the water down pet, got a long way to go”

“That bad?”

William moved back towards the bed, leaning over to stroke a stray strand of hair away from her face. “You scared me Rayne”

“Me too” Violet whispered.

A cool kiss was pressed to her forehead. “Its going to be ok” He murmured against her skin.

Violet swallowed. “Promise?”

“I promise”

 

One week later.

Shifting the pillows behind her to give some more support Violet dropped her shoulders, forcing them down as low as they could go before stretching out her neck, extending her tired muscles until the uncomfortableness turned into sweat-inducing pain. Closing her eyes she held position, deliberately exhaled breaths puffed between her lips to help her through the self-induced torture. Yesterday the young Slayer had managed to reach thirty in her head before having to surrender, today would be forty despite the moistness gathering treacherously below her nose. At thirty-five her body began to shake and she squeezed her eyes tighter, a small grunt issuing from her throat as she forced herself to not speed up the counting of the last five seconds.

“Forty” She breathed. Bringing her knees up to her chest so she could rest her head on them Violet tried not to think about just what kind of picture she cut. A Slayer who was one of the most powerful in the world brought so low she couldn’t even make it through a yoga class, if that was her kind of thing, which it most definitely wasn’t. She smiled briefly at the memory of a very frustrated Chao-Ahn attempting to get her to meditate during her recovery in Africa.

Frowning a little she raised her head and extended her left arm, scratching at the pin-prick of a wound that lay in the crook of her elbow. She knew its twin marked the exact same spot on her right arm, and that they had only just stopped being madness-inducing itchy. Violet made herself stop, clenching her fists and shoving her hands under her arse like a petulant child, William was right when he said they would never go if she didn’t stop worrying at them. Besides she was pretty sure most of the incessant bothering of the tiny scratch marks was due to her paranoia regarding them rather than any actual physical discomfort.

She’d moaned about them, they’d told her off for constantly taking the top of the small scabs…but nobody had actually been brave enough to broach the subject of what they were from. A flash of a red-filled syringe made the young woman shiver. “Bollocks” She whispered. Throwing the quilt off her legs, slightly regretting the strain she’d just put her shoulders and neck through, Violet swung her feet to the floor and braced a hand against the thankfully high mattress as she pushed up to a vaguely respectable standing position. Carefully sliding on the earlier discarded silk robe she made her way to the open door, tying a loose knot around her waist as she stepped into the dimly lit short passageway that led to the rest of the apartment.

The curtains were always drawn tight against the large expanse of glass that looked out over the city, her carers had been lucky to burst into her apartment at night otherwise they themselves could have become small piles of ash on her very expensive rug or been forced to stand by and watch her bleed out, bathed in winter sunlight. She’d argued the point that it was difficult to remember small details like that when slipping into unconsciousness on your own couch after their gently scolding. Her home was now permanently lit by just two floor lamps, Violet was not loving the brightness at the moment but her Slayer eyes had a little way to go before they could deal with the dark as well as usual.

Padding into the open living area she smiled slightly as they didn’t appear to have heard her approach or notice her standing silently observing the scene. Slayer stealthiness 1:Vamp hearing 0. She cleared her throat quietly and they both looked up, faint surprise showing on both their faces before being whipped away from her gaze. “I’m getting stealthier” Violet stated.

“So we see” Angel placed his book down and smiled at her. “We would also like you to stop torturing yourself in an attempt to speed up your recovery”

She scowled at him. “Asshole”

William snorted and patted the empty place next to him on the comfier sofa. “Come sit pet”

“I’m good here” Violet folded her arms across her chest. “And why does nobody use the other sofa?” She nodded at the older Vampire who was sat on the floor, back propped against the Plume Blanche.

“Because despite costing more than your average house its incredibly uncomfortable” She rolled her eyes at the still smiling Angel. “You have something to say Violet?”

“We need to confront the elephant”

A brow raised. “Excuse me?”

The young woman stretched out her arms, the silk pooling just above her inner elbows. “Elephant” She put it out there. Two sets of eyes flickered towards the bare skin briefly but nothing was said. Violet rolled her eyes. “Ok, I’ll make this easy for you. Did you inject me with your blood?” The silence hung for a moment too long.

“Yes” William watched her with a blank face but she could see his strong jaw twitching in the low lamp light.

Violet huffed a laugh, arms dropping back down at her sides. “Great, just great…”

“Now Vi…”

“Don’t you ‘now Vi’ me!” She made sure her eyes raked over the both of them, feeling the cold moving through her body at the dreadful possibilities. “What the hell have you done?!”

“Violet!” Angel stood and she moved a step back.

“What the fuck guys?!” She wrapped her arms around her suddenly shaking body. “Am I a vampire now?! Am I a fucking Slaypire?!”

“Don’t be so fucking ridiculous pet” William was now standing. “You still feel like shit, huh? You got a heartbeat? Feeling the urge to pull in some oxygen?”

She scowled at him. "Well, yes"

"Well, no Slaypire then pet" He folded his arms across his bare chest. "Vamps don't turn Slayers, 'less they're got a death wish. Bloody maniacs" He shifted his stance slightly and Violet went to the balls of her feet. The vampire rolled his eyes. "Stand down Slayer, it'd still be an unfair fight and I like a challenge these days"

Violet wrinkled her nose. "Gross"

The older vampire snorted. "Agreed" Angel sat back down, propping himself on the edge of the world's most uncomfortable sofa. "Your blood loss was extreme Violet, your injuries aggravated by your insistence of waiting to get help until you were here. Add in the fact you were malnourished, dehydrated and at the brink of exhaustion...you may not have survived. Even with the enhanced abilities your body was struggling to heal itself"

She eyed him warily, trying not think of everything the past few months had thrown at her. "It was the only way?"

He nodded. "Yes, after we had discounted calling on Sineya House or the Concilium. We guessed that you had contacted us in order to avoid them, and that was a big gesture"

Violet's eyes flickered over the both of them, they appeared to be projecting sincerity and caring but her senses were a little dulled. "If I die will I turn?"

"No" William shook his head. "We were very careful, vamps don't like Slaypires, they're superior to us and there's something about the mix of the two demons that sends you a bit batshit crazy" He grinned at her briefly. "You got enough to boost your healing, keep you living for long enough that your Slayer abilities kicked in. Like I said, you scared us"

Violet chewed her lip briefly. "Will your blood leave my system?" She clasped her hands together, pointer fingers pressed to her lips as she awaited the answer.

The two vampires looked at each other briefly before Angel met her eyes once more. "No...I'm sorry"

The young woman moved her fingers up to press hard other side of the bridge of her nose. "Shit" She whispered. Rubbing small circles over the pressure point Violet was grateful of the silence they afforded her whilst she thought. Raising her head a moment later she interlaced her fingers, twisted them around each other as she spoke. "Will they smell it on me?"

A brow raised. "Other Slayers?"

She nodded. "And vamps"

"No"

"You sound very sure"

The older vampire shrugged. "They might be thrown by you for a few seconds, but they won't be able to pinpoint it, even the best. The amount is too minuscule compared to your Slayer blood"

Violet nodded again. "Any other physical effects?"

"Only good ones love" William smiled toothy at her as she turned to face him, a questioning look upon her face. "You want the short version?" She nodded. "You'll always heal better, your night vision will improve on it's already impressive range as will your hearing. And you'll be stronger, faster" The blonde vampire pointed at her. "Not by much but that's usually all you need, and you know that better than most eh pet?"

She huffed a quiet laugh. "You bullshitting me vampire?"

"I am not Slayer"

"Will it make me less human?"

"Only if you let it"

A faint smile played upon her lips as she looked them both over. "And why did you give this to me?"

"To save your life"

"And?"

"And we think you're gonna need it Slayer"


End file.
